


The Life We Made

by Fallenstar92



Series: No Regrets, Just Love [2]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Asexual Character, Cute Kids, Daddy Ian, Daddy Mickey, Domestic Ian Gallagher/Mickey Milkovich, Erectile Dysfunction, Established Relationship, F/M, Facebook, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Good Big Brother Lip, Lip Gallagher & Mickey Milkovich Bromance, M/M, Married Ian Gallagher/Mickey Milkovich, Mickey Uses His Words, Panic Attacks, Protective Ian Gallagher, Sexual Dysfunction, Smut, Stalking, Sweet Ian, Sweet Mickey, Texting, Time Skips, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-31
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2018-11-07 03:59:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 50
Words: 54,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11050866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fallenstar92/pseuds/Fallenstar92
Summary: A sequel to "Please Stay Forever With Me" so read that first. Fallows Ian, Mickey, and their kids through the years.





	1. Sunday Morning

                   Five Years Later

"Mayla Katelyn Gallagher, you got thirty seconds to get outta that damn bathroom!" Mickey yelled, pounding on the bathroom door as Marley-still looking like the perfect combination of her parents with Ian's green eyes, freckles, strong chin, and slightly turned up nose and Mickey's pitch black hair, full lips, and high cheekbones-did a little "potty dance" next to him. Mayla had recently turned thirteen and had begged her parents to let her start wearing makeup, which caused a lot of problems when you had three other children sharing a bathroom with her. "Go to Mama and Daddy's room and use our bathroom, Lee." Marley quickly ran up the hall-almost slamming straight into Kylan-to Mickey and Ian's bedroom.

"Is May still in the bathroom?" An obviously half asleep Kylan asked.

"I'm done! Sorry, mama." Mayla said as she emerged from the bathroom, her long, black hair braided delicately to the side and light, neutral colored makeup extenuating her vibrant green eyes, pale skin, and full lips. Mickey had no idea why the girl felt the need to wear makeup-she was naturally beautiful-but she did a good job of applying it. "Thought I heard Marley?"

"Girl was about to piss herself waitin' for you to get done so I sent her to our room." Mayla gave Mickey a sheepish look, her full bottom lip sucked into her mouth. "Go brush your teeth, Ky." Mickey sighed before pulling his eldest daughter to him and kissing her forehead. "Look perfect without the makeup, sweet girl."

"Just wanna look nice for Aunt Debbie's wedding." She defended. Mayla had grown up, but was still the sweet, gentle person she'd been at eight. "Do you need me to do Lee's hair?" Debbie had asked her five year-old niece to be her flower girl and the little girl had been thrilled she got to be in the wedding.

"Yeah; don't take too much time, okay? Once Ky's dressed and your dad has Alek in his suit we're leavin'." Mickey was thankful Mandy, Debbie, Fiona, and his mother had taught his daughter to do her hair and makeup, because he knew fuck all about that shit. "Thanks, May." The girl nodded with a bright smile before disappearing into the room she shared with her sister to retrieve what she needed to style Marley's hair.

"I don't gotta wear a suit like Alek, right?" Kylan asked with a scowl that looked completely out of place on his face; Ian's face.

"No, monster; just the shirt and tie dad laid out for you." Mickey said with a little laugh; his son was too much like him, some days. Mickey made his way to his bedroom, finding Mayla sitting on the bed-her pretty, knee-length coral pink dress smoothed out at her sides-with Marley-dressed in a beautiful, cream-colored, knee-length three-quarter sleeve dress-sitting in front of her as she braided her hair like she'd done with her own and Ian tying the grey tie around a fidgety Aleksandr's neck.

"Need some help?" Mickey asked, seeing the struggle his husband was having getting the boy to stand still long enough to get the tie done.

"Please." Ian sighed. Mickey smirked before kneeling in front of his little mini-me.

"Hold still." Mickey said in his authoritative tone that made Aleksandr instantly still. He understood why the boy seemed so nervous; Aleksandr was their shy child-hated any form of attention that came from anyone aside from his parents or siblings-and he was the ring bearer in Debbie's wedding. "It's gonna be okay, little one; just carry the rings and you're done." Mickey soothed, checking the tiny brunette's hair.

"Mama, They're gonna watch me." Aleksandr mumbled shyly, looking down at his little feet. Mickey hated that his baby boy was so afraid of anyone looking at him; he was as sweet as Mayla and their smartest child by far, yet he didn't want anyone seeing it. 

"Only for a second, Alek." Aleksandr nodded, still looking at his feet. "You'll be okay, little one." He kissed the boy's cheek, loving that Aleksandr instinctively wrapped in his arms around him.

"Daddy, can you help me?" Kylan asked, walking to the bedroom with his black tie-one that belonged to Ian from his numerous trips to court as a child-untied. Ian stood and helped the boy who could pass for his twin. Mickey smiled, watching his family finish getting ready; his life was nothing like he expected, and he wouldn't change it for the fucking world.


	2. Little Do You Know I'm Still Haunted By The Memories

For the most part, life in the Gallagher household was perfect, but there were times-times that made Ian wish time travel were possible-where Ian could see that Mickey's trust in him wasn't completely restored. How could it be? That trust took nineteen years to build, and it had only been six years since he completely ruined it. Tonight was one of the nights that it was painfully obvious that Mickey was still haunted by the memories of Ian cheating on him; Debbie's new husband, Zach's best man-Grant-was blatantly flirting with Ian at the wedding reception-which was held at the Alibi-and Mickey basically hid himself away in the corner of a booth with Aleksandr.

"Hey, baby." Ian greeted, taking a seat in the booth with Aleksandr between them. "You okay?" Ian knew he wasn't, but he also knew they'd come far enough since Mickey was an angry six year-old who refused to acknowledge that he had feelings that there was a chance he'd tell Ian what was bothering him.

"Alek hates parties." This was true; Aleksandr was too painfully shy to do well at parties-always hiding somewhere during the twins' birthday parties-where he was expected to socialize and have fun, but Ian already knew that, so why was Mickey trying to use that as his reasoning for keeping to himself? "Marley get you to dance with her?" Marley was the exact opposite of her twin brother; she loved being the center of attention and thrived in social situations, as well as being much more carefree than the shy, blue-eyed boy.

"For a minute, then she went off to dance with May." Ian would have smiled at the thought of how much Marley emulated her older sister if something wasn't obviously wrong with his husband.

"Hey, Alek? Can you come dance with your Aunt Debbie?" Debbie asked, approaching the table, still looking absolutely lovely-dressed in a simple, empire waisted cream-colored dress with her red hair curled perfectly and makeup fit for an old Hollywood movie star-with a hopeful expression. Debbie adored all of her nieces and nephews, but she had a definite soft spot for her youngest nephew; claiming it was because she was his favorite aunt, which was true.

"I'm not a good dancer like Lee." He mumbled softly, barely audible over the music. Because his twin had the more out-going personality of the two, Aleksandr always seemed to feel inferior to Marley.

"I'm not a good dancer, either, sweetie; but I wanna dance with my sweet little Alek." Even if all of their siblings were good Aunts and Uncles, Debbie was-by far-the best with Aleksandr. The boy shyly smiled as he crawled over Ian's lap to take the make-shift dance floor with his Aunt.

"Wish I knew how she gets him to come outta his shell like that." Ian commented, watching as Aleksandr carefullly swayed to the slow song playing with his hands in Debbie's. Aleksandr was still smaller than their other three children at his age-standing a good three inches shorter than Marley and weighing five pounds less-and it made his dancing even more adorable.

"Guess she just gets him." Mickey replied with a shrug, looking from Aleksandr and Debbie, to Mayla dancing-far too animatedly for the song to keep up with the ball of energy that was her sister-to Kylan, sitting on a barstool talking to Frank and Fiona. Ian understood wanting to know where each of their children were, but Mickey was doing this strategically to avoid looking Ian in the eyes.

"Baby, tell me what the fuck I did so I can fix it." Ian begged, placing his hand over Mickey's on the table top.

"Best man's kinda hot." He wasn't; he was too tall for his thin body, which made his head look disproportionate to his body-not helped by the fact that he had an obviously fake tan and wore contact lenses to make his eyes look unnaturally green-and his nose look too large for his face. "Seemed into you." And there it was; Mickey thought Ian was going to cheat on him with the lanky, self-centered man who had been flirting with him at the bar, despite Ian constantly telling him to fuck off and that he was married.

"Mick, baby, look at me." Mickey complied reluctantly, meeting the intense gaze of Ian's striking green eyes. "That pompous asshole's got nothin' on you; he thinks he's fuckin' gorgeous, but he's not. I should know, I married the hottest fuckin' guy in this room." Mickey blushed slightly, looking away from Ian quickly to try and hide the fact. "Kept tellin' him I was married and wasn't interested, but the fucker wouldn't take a hint."

"I'm gettin' old; guy can't be older than twenty-four." Mickey muttered, face still red from Ian's comments.

"You're thriry-one. I don't think that classifies you as "old" yet." Ian teased. "Besides, I'm thirty; if you're old, so am I."

"Look older." Mickey really didn't; he looked the exact same as he had the day he graduated college at twenty-four. "And you're still hot."

"Mickey, you look fuckin' amazing; always did, even when you were caked in dirt with messy hair." Ian said honestly, taking Mickey's face in his hands and gently turning his head to make him look him in the eyes, again. "I fucked up before, I know, but I'm older and a hell of a lot wiser; I'm never gonna risk losin' you, again." He leaned in, placing a feather-light kiss on his husband's lips. "I love you, Mick; not just because you're hot-and holy shit are you hot-but because you're Mickey."

"Still a little fucked up." Mickey admitted, licking his bottom lip. "Don't wanna lose you 'cause you realized you could do better."

"Not possible when I have the best." Ian said in a flirty tone that had Mickey rolling his eyes. "Hey, fuck off! That was fuckin' good!" Ian laughed, pulling his husband into another, more passionate kiss. "Really did marry the best, though."

"I love you, you fuckin' corny asshole." Mickey said, playing with the hair at the base of Ian's skull. "Really don't think he's hot?"

"God no! Looks like a creepy-ass cartoon character!" They were both laughing, now, their heads close together as music continues to play in the background. "You on the other hand, look fuckin' amazing, tonight." Ian really did think his husband looked amazing in his black, button-down shirt with his hair perfectly styled. "Always do."

 

"We should get another cat." Ian mumbled sleepily as he used the hand that wasn't wrapped around Mickey's slim waist to pet Onyx-the family's fluffy, fat black cat-on her head. "Onyx could use a friend."

"Onyx hates everything and everyone but us and the kids." Mickey muttered, burying his face deeper into Ian's chest.

"Might not hate other cats." Ian supplied, barely awake as Mickey's soft breathing and Onyx's purrs lulled him to sleep.

"Talk in the morning, sleep now." Mickey slurred sleepily. Ian let out a tiny laugh as he drifted off to sleep. How the hell had his life become so domestic?


	3. You Always Find Your Way

Sometimes in life, you make a bigger impression on someone than you expected. That seemed to be the case for Ian when he logged onto his facebook one night after all of their children were asleep and Mickey needed to shower-due to Aleksandr's horrible flu causing him to throw up on the brunette man-leaving Ian in their bed with a fevered five-year-old at his side. Mickey and Ian had learned after years of parenting that their kids always slept better when they were sick if one of them stayed at their side, so Ian couldn't join his husband and needed something to keep him awake.

  ** _Lloyd Lishman_** _Sent you a friend request!_

Ian looked at the profile picture, trying to figure out if he knew the man; he was older-probably in his mid to late sixties-with a square jaw, spray tan, and hair that had obviously been colored blond. Ian didn't recognize him, but he hit accept, anyway before posting the picture he'd taken of Aleksandr-sleeping with his head on Ian's leg and their black cat, who looked half his size, under his arm-to his account.

_**Ian Gallagher:** Our poor little man's feeling a little rough; nothing some cuddle time with daddy and Onyx can't fix-with  **Mickey Gallagher.**_

Even after fourteen years of marriage, Ian still smiled when he saw the name "Mickey Gallagher" instead of "Mickey Milkovich." Ian gently carded his fingers through Aleksandr's dark hair, scrolling through his Facebook feed until he got a notification that Debbie had commented on the picture of Aleksandr.

_**Debbie Gallagher-Carson:** Tell my sweet Alek Aunt Debbie hopes he feels better!_

Ian had to smile at Debbie's profile picture-A picture of her, Lip, Fiona, Carl, Liam, Frank, and himself from her wedding day-and the fact that she always called Aleksandr her "sweet little Alek." Ian looked back at Aleksandr's adorable little face, scrunched up in discomfort as he slept, and felt awful that none of his kids could catch a break during flu season. His phone pinged in his hand, signaling that he had a message on Messenger.

_**Lloyd:** _ _Hey there, Gingersnap._

Ian wanted to vomit; did this man seriously think a lame-ass nickname like that would get Ian-who's profile picture was him and Mickey the night of Debbie's wedding, Ian standing behind his husband with his arms around his waist as they smiled at each other-to talk to him?

_**Lloyd:** I'm one of the doctor's from General; met you the other night when you brought in a burn victim._

Ian remembered talking to several of the doctor's that night, but after you take a twelve-year-old covered in third degree burns into the hospital-particularly when you're a parent with a child around the same age-your brain is a little foggy.

_**Ian:** Sorry, head wasn't exactly with me after we brought her in; I don't remember you._

Ian decided to be be polite to the man, assuming now that the nickname was just a joke since they had met at work.

_**Lloyd:** I understand; I have two boys, myself, I can't imagine that happening to one of them. I can't imagine someone with such a young child being a first responder._

Ian cringed; he tried not to think about any of the horrible things he's seen at work ever happening to any of his children. He hated seeing any of them sick, and nearly had a heart attack when Kylan broke his wrist last summer falling off his bike.

_**Lloyd:** So who is the lucky man in your picture with you?_

**_Ian:_ ** _My husband._

**_Lloyd:_ ** _Been together long?_

**_Ian:_ ** _Yeah._

This guy was giving Ian some really weird fucking vibes; he met Ian while he was working, yet remembered his first and last name, looked him up on fucking Facebook, sent him a message not to talk about work, and called Mickey "the lucky guy" in his picture. This guy was a fucking creep.

_**Lloyd:** Can't be that long? How old are you? Thirty?_

**_Ian:_ ** _Yeah, I am. Not to be rude, but I have a sick kid to take care of, so did you have a reason for messaging me?_

Ian leaned into Mickey's touch without having to look up when his husband walked out of the bathroom and kissed his hair. "Who's the Geriatric Viagroid?" Mickey asked as he moved to touch Aleksandr's forehead.

"Don't really know; says he was one of the doctors the night we picked up that kid in the house fire, but I don't fuckin' remember him." Ian passed Mickey his cellphone, letting him see the conversation. "Creeps me out."

"Should I be jealous that some old doctor's hittin' on your freckled ass?" Mickey teased, reading through the short conversation in front of him.

"Baby, my profile picture is us together, my profiles says we're married, and I just posted a picture of Alek and tagged "Mickey Gallagher". I don't think most people would be fuckin' stupid enough to think I'd do anything." Ian replied with an easy smile, lifting Aleksandr to lay on his chest when Onyx ran off.

"People do it." Mickey pointed out, handing Ian his phone back.

"Not everyone has you." Ian defended, laying down with Aleksandr and setting his phone on the nightstand. "Night, baby. Love you."

"Night. Love you, too." Mickey whispered, watching his husband and son as Ian fell asleep. Once he was sure Ian was asleep, Mickey picked up his own phone, took a picture of Ian holding the sleeping boy-dressed in his favorite Batman pajamas-close to his chest, and logged onto his own facebook account.

_**Mickey Gallagher:** _ _Poor Alek isn't feeling too hot, but he's got his daddy as a human mattress. Love my husband and our babies.-With **Ian Gallagher**_

So what if he was staking his claim, Ian was his, dammit! He laid down, cuddling up to his husband and wrapping his arm around their poor, sick little boy.

 


	4. I'm A Little Unsteady

Mayla was at a friend's house, Kylan was out with Carl doing something Ian was sure they'd have to tell their son never to repeat, and Mickey had taken Aleksandr to his doctor's appointment so it was just Ian and Marley at the house. Ian was sat in the floor-his long legs smashed against the coffee table-as Marley walked around the table in the Belle dress Fiona had gotten her for Christmas with the plastic tiara, sparkly pink feather boa, and sparkly pink plastic shoes Mandy and Lip had gotten her for her birthday pouring "tea" for both of them. When he was younger, he would have been embarrassed if Debbie had asked him to play games like this, but as an adult with two daughters he found himself enjoying the sweet little moments like this. "Daddy, I'm not Marley, today." The little brunette girl informed him as she took a seat in the floor next to him.

"You're not? Well who are you?" He played along, loving Marley's sweet little giggle he got in response.

"I'm princess Lee!" She almost sang, flashing a beautiful, wide smile towards her father. "And you are king Ian."

"Well, princess Lee, what royal business do we have to attend to?" If another grown man saw him right now, they would laugh their ass off, but Ian was happy his little girl seemed to be enjoying herself.

"Uhm... Royal poor-trit!" She annunciated. Ian grabbed his phone, pulled Marley into his lap, and snapped a quick picture-not caring in the slightest that Marley had put a purple feather boa around his neck and a plastic "Frozen" tiara on his head-of him and his baby girl together. "Facebook, daddy!"

"I thought I was King Ian?" Ian demanded in mock offense.

"Facebook, King Ian!" She corrected, smiling up at him. Ian couldn't say "no" to that smile.

_**Ian Gallagher:** Tea party time with my little diva (who informed me her name is "Princess Lee" instead of Marley, today) for our daddy daughter day. By the way, I'm totally rockin' a hand-me-down Tiara.-With  **Mickey Gallagher** and  **Mayla Gallagher.**_

Marley giggled again once Ian had posted the picture. Mayla had asked if she could make herself a Facebook a couple of months ago, and actually showed off pictures of her younger brothers and younger sister, so he couldn't resist tagging his original princess (who had once owned the Tiara on Ian's head) in the picture of himself and Marley. His phone pinged, letting him know he had a notification.

_**Mayla Gallagher:** Trying to steal my title, Lee? Lol, too cute! :-) _

"Sissy thinks you wanna take over as princess." He informed Marley, who-unlike Aleksandr, who had mastered small words in their preschool class-couldn't read yet.

"No; Sissy's princess, bubba's monster, bubby's little one, and I'm Diva." Ian was full-on belly laughing, now. The nickname thing had started with him calling Mayla "princess" before she was born, and it had just went through each child; most are based on their personalities, but Mayla would always be his princess. Ian's phone pinged again. He assumed his sister-in-law, one of his siblings, or his husband had commented on his picture, but he was wrong.

_**Lloyd:** Think you're the cute one in that picture, gingersnap ;-) _

Ian rolled his eyes; ever since he had accepted Lloyd he'd been sending flirty messages. Mickey had told him not to block the fucking creeper because his attempts at flirting with the man over half his age were hilarious to both of them. He didn't like him looking at the pictures he posted with his children, though, and really didn't like him saying Ian was the cute one in the picture; Marley was adorable, just like his other three children.

_**Lloyd:** Thought you had a boy?_

This guy made no fucking sense; sometimes it seemed like he had went through everything on Ian's profile, and others it was as if he'd never even glanced at it. Ian had no problem showing off all four of the children he had with his husband-he would actually rather post pictures of the kids or Mickey than himself, anyway-and it was blatantly obvious by his profile he has two sons and two daughters. Ian heard Marley yawn in his lap, and knew the poor girl must have really worn herself out; she had the flu before her twin-though not as bad, thank God-and still wasn't completely over it. "Wanna watch a movie and snuggle with daddy?" He asked as quietly as he could; Marley got scared if anyone's voice was the least bit loud when she was tired.

"The puppy movie?" Netflix was fucking awesome; Marley had recently gotten hooked on "Homeward Bound"-or as she called it "the puppy movie"-after Mickey had randomly selected it on Netflix for Marley and Aleksandr to watch. Marley made them watch it at least three times a week, now.

"Yeah, diva, we can watch the puppy movie. Take off your pretty shoes and tiara so you can nap." Marley nodded, taking off the plastic shoes, feather boa, and tiara as Ian did the same (minus the shoes, he silently thanked Frank and Monica for giving him huge fucking feet so he could use that as his excuse to not wear shit like that when Marley wanted to play tea party) and laid on the couch. Marley crawled up to lay on his chest, absentmindedly tracing the tattoo of her own name on Ian's forearm as the movie started.

Even if Ian hadn't seen this movie as a child he would know it by heart, at this point, so when his phone pinged he didn't mind looking away from the screen to check it.

_**Lloyd:** You know, I saw you around the hospital a few times before I talked to you; thought you looked like such a pretty little twink. Finally decided to make a move when you actually brought someone in who was my patient. I could buy you nice things, order you room service, take you to nice hotels... Anything you want. I've spent so long thinking about all of the things I'd do to that body._

Ian didn't like this; it was no longer funny. This sounded like borderline stalker behavior, and he felt sick after reading the message. He threw his phone onto the table and held Marley close, hoping he was just over-reacting but almost positive he wasn't.


	5. Won't Let Nobody Hurt You

Mickey's already pale face turned ashen as he read the message from Lloyd later that night after they had made the kids dinner and put them to bed. Ian had contemplated not telling his husband about this, but he honestly didn't know how to handle the situation alone and needed Mickey. "What the fuck did I just read?" Mickey almost screamed as he started pacing their living room with his left thumbnail in his mouth.

"I have no idea, Mick; I swear, I don't even remember meeting him, let alone seein' him before he started this shit." Ian said, standing up to block the path Mickey was walking. "I don't know what the fuck to do, baby." Ian was actually freaked out, thinking some man was watching him-for who the fuck knows how long-everytime he took a patient to the hospital. He didn't know how he would handle the next time they had to take someone to General; he never wanted to see this man in person again (since he apparently already had, despite not remembering it all) and couldn't just refuse to take patients to the hospital.

"I'll kill that fucker." Ian grabbed Mickey as he went to walk up the stairs to their bedroom. "Let me the fuck go, Ian; this fucker was  _watching_ you!"

"I know, but you can't kill him, baby; I need you here." He caged Mickey's face between his large hands, forcing those seething blue eyes to look into his intense green ones. "I'm not gonna let you do somethin' that'll risk you missin' out on any part of our kids' lives." He knew that would stop Mickey; as protective as he was of Ian, Mickey loved his kids more than anyone or anything else in the world. 

"Don't use my fuckin' babies against me." Mickey seethed, though he was significantly calmer than he was a moment ago. "Ian, he could be dangerous."

"I know, baby, but I would rather take that risk than lose you." Ian said, carding his fingers through Mickey's thick, black hair. "When I married you I did it because I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you; not so I could talk to you through glass once a week." Mickey let out a small sigh as he wrapped his arms around Ian's neck and copied Ian's motions through the man's soft red locks. "We got this shit, remember?"

"Don't want you gettin' hurt." Mickey admitted, looking into the green eyes he loved so much that Ian had passed down to three of their four children. "Love your freckled ass."

"My ass the only thing you love?" Ian asked lowly, backing Mickey into the wall; he needed to distract his man, and he knew exactly how to do that. "Thought there were some other things you might love." He rolled his hips against Mickey's, causing the blue-eyed man to elicit a sexy fucking moan.

"Love all of you." Mickey declared, pulling Ian into a fierce kiss, nipping and sucking on his bottom lip. "Need you." Ian moaned at Mickey's words; he loved how much he and Mickey still wanted each other after all of these years.

"Bedroom; our kids play here." Ian ordered, moving to nip at Mickey's jaw before pulling him up the stairs to their bedroom.

 

"Fuck." Ian groaned as he pulled his softening dick out of his husband's limp body. "God how the hell is that always so fuckin' good?" He asked, laying down beside Mickey as they tried to catch their breath. They had been so caught up they hadn't bothered with a condom-something they actually only use to eliminate some of the mess after Ian got a vasectomy when the twins were six months old-so Ian made a mental note to change the sheets in the morning; their kids crawl into their bed too often for them to leave it.

"'Cause it's us." Mickey barley even mumbled as his eyes started to droop. "Talk to your boss about the viagroid." He slurred, rolling over to cuddle up to his husband.

"Yeah, I'll let Rita know." Ian promised, kissing Mickey's sweaty hair. "I love you, baby. Good night."

"Love you." Mickey replied softly, kissing Ian's chest-right over the tattooed Roman numerals of their wedding date-and snuggled deeper into his side. "Good night, babe." Ian fell asleep with Mickey in his arms, hoping Rita could help him get this shit straightened out so nothing could possibly happen to his family.


	6. I'd Walk Through Hell For You

Rita seemed to have the same reaction to Lloyd's messages as Mickey when Ian showed them to her. He kept the promise he made to his husband the next day during a lull in calls, but he hadn't expected the normally put together woman to look so terrified by what she read. "This is all of them, right?" She asked Ian in a shaky voice. "He hasn't contacted you any other way?"

"No, that's it... I don't even know how he would've gotten my last name, Rita; if a doctor-or anyone who doesn't work at one of my kids' schools for that matter-talks to me, I just introduce myself as "Ian."" Ian said as he sat across from Rita's desk, running a trembling hand through his hair. "Maybe he heard Sue call me "Gallagher" or something and put it together? I don't really know, it's just really freaking Mickey and I out."

"Mickey's read these and the asshole's still alive?" Rita tried to joke, though she still seemed shaken. "Are you sure you even met him?"

"No, in all honesty I don't remember ever seeing him until his profile picture popped up with the friend request a week ago." Ian didn't like thinking about the possibility that he  _hadn't_ met Lloyd, because that made the whole thing even worse. "Is there anything you can do to help?" He was desperate for this to stop as soon as possible.

"Mind if we print these out? If I have them I can turn them over to General." Ian nodded, glad Rita was willing to help him. "We'll get this shit straightened out, Ian, don't worry." She said, standing up and giving his shoulder a comforting squeeze. He truly hoped Rita was right.

 

"Mick, you got time for a personal account?" Mickey's boss-Lilah-asked as he sat at his desk, looking over the spreadsheet on his computer screen.

"Yeah. Phil and Cathy busy?" Mickey asked, saving the work he'd been doing and looking up at the short, rather round older woman in front of him.

"Phil's a week behind after he had that flu and Cathy's got three other personal accounts and two business accounts she's working on." Lilah informed him. Mickey usually only worked business accounts, while his co-workers-Phil and Cathy-worked the personal ones.

"I got it, no worries." Lilah thanked him before running off, presumably to get Mickey's new client. Mickey pulled up everything he'd need to start working on this account when Lilah returned with a familiar looking man beside her; Lloyd Lishman.

"Mr. Lishman, this is Mikhailo Gallagher, he'll be the one working with you." Mickey hated himself for agreeing to this as soon as Lilah said his name. Lilah walked away, leaving Mickey with the man who was seemingly stalking his husband.

"Have we met?" Lloyd asked, looking Mickey over as he sat down across from Mickey's desk.

"I don't think so. If you could just tell me what you need done and give me any documentation you have I can get this started and I should have it to you by tomorrow; Wednesday at the latest." Mickey spouted out in his polite work persona he'd perfected over the years.

"My wife is divorcing me; asking for an insane amount in alimony. I just need documented proof I can't pay that much, and a roundabout number of what I actually  _could_ pay her. Are you married, Mikhailo?" Lloyd's question relieved Mickey to an extent; he didn't seem to recognize him from Ian's picture.

"Yes." He replied simply. "Do you have bank statements?" Mickey asked, trying to get the man back on track and out of his office.

"Last twelve months work?" Mickey nodded, holding out his hand. "I know where I've seen you." Lloyd muttered as he passed the papers to Mickey, taking the time to look at the bandages covering his tattooed knuckles. Mickey suddenly felt dizzy; he didn't want Lloyd to realize he was Ian's husband. "You're the cute redhead's husband." 'Fuck' Mickey thought, quickly looking down at the papers in front of him.

"Lilah will call you when I've turned this in." Mickey said, completely stepping around his comment about Ian.

"Been talking to him for awhile; think we might be getting somewhere." This man was either delusional or wanted to piss Mickey off, he wasn't quite sure which was worse. "He's why my wife is leaving me, you know? Starting a relationship with someone else is a sure fire way to land yourself in court, splitting your shit in half... he's worth it, though." Did he really believe he and Ian were in some kind of relationship? Mickey felt the tell-tale signs of a panic attack creeping up on him as he looked back at Lloyd.

"I'll have this to Lilah in a day or two. Have a nice day, Mr. Lishman." Mickey was proud of himself for keeping his voice steady. Lloyd stood up and exited his office right before Mickey started to hyperventilate and tears pooled in his eyes. He hated this; he'd never been alone during a panic attack, and it was terrifying to experience without Ian or his mother there to help him calm down. He reached for his phone as his vision began to blur.

"Hey, baby." Ian answered. Mickey was gasping for breath, unable to reply. "Mickey?" Ian asked, voice raising when he realized Mickey was in some form of distress.

"Ian." He managed to choke out before everything went black around him.

 


	7. I'm By Your Side

Ian yelled out that he had a family emergency before jumping in his SUV and speeding to Mickey's office. He'd heard the thud of Mickey hitting the floor through the phone after he had choked out his name through gasps for breath and hung up, needing to get to Mickey as soon as possible. He barely registered anything going on around him until he approached the familiar office building his husband worked in. "Hi, Ian!" Lilah cheerfully greeted as he ran inside.

He barely acknowledged her as he sped to Mickey's office door, letting out only a small relieved breath that it wasn't locked. "Mick!" He had expected to find Mickey on the floor, but not with a bleeding head wound and his cellphone still clutched in his hand. "Lilah!" He shouted as he ran to Mickey's side, checking his husband's pulse as he lay on the ground, completely unmoving.

He heard Lilah gasp from the doorway, but didn't look away from Mickey. "Call 911; I think he had a panic attack." Ian instructed before moving to look at the gash on the side of Mickey's head-he assumed was caused by the corner of his desk-to inspect the damage. "Mick, baby, come on, wake up." He said, gently shaking Mickey's shoulders, though he knew logically if he hadn't passed out from the panic attack the hit to his head would've knocked him out cold. 

"An ambulance is on the way." Lilah told him, slowly walking into the room, herself. "What the hell happened, Ian?"

"I don't know; he called me, it sounded like he couldn't breathe, he said my name, and then a heard him hit the ground." Ian sounded numb even to his own ears. He didn't know what had caused his husband's panic attack, and he hated himself for not being here to help him. He became vaguely aware of a medic asking him questions-"What's his name?" "Mikhailo Gallagher." "How old is he?" "Thirty-One." "Does he have an allergy to any medications?" "No." "Does he have a history of Panic Attacks?" "Yes."-but he never took his eyes off Mickey for a second.

 

"Ian!" Fiona called as she, Mandy, Lip, Debbie, Zach, and Mickey and Ian's children entered the hospital waiting room. "What happened?"

"Think it was a panic attack but I won't know for sure until the doctor tells us something." Ian recited from memory, holding out his arms so Aleksandr and Marley-who were both in tears-could crawl into his lap. Mayla stood to the side, trying to maintain her composure as Kylan cried at her side, his spindly arms wrapped around his older sister. "Mama's gonna be okay." He promised the two crying five-year-olds in his lap, looking over towards Mayla and Kylan to make sure they understood, too; Mickey was too strong to let this slow him down.

"Daddy, how did you even know to go to Mama's office?" Mayla asked, her voice cracking as she moved herself and Kylan to the chair beside Ian, sitting down herself, and letting Kylan crawl into her lap. "Aunt Fi said he passed out."

"He called me, princess." He was trying not to cry, himself as he spoke. "This hasn't happened since you were little."

"I don't remember Mama ever having to go to the hospital, expect when he had Ky, Lee, and Alek." Mayla commented, patting her younger brother's back as he sniffled into the shoulder of her t-shirt.

"It was never this bad, May; he usually had Grandma Katie or your dad to help him calm down." Mandy spoke up, moving to sit across from Ian and the kids with the rest of the family. Mayla didn't say anything; just wrapped her arm around Kylan and gripped Ian's hand.

"Mama's okay, bubby." Marley spoke, patting her twin's arm gently. Despite Aleksandr seeming to feel inferior to her, the two of them were-without a doubt-the closest of the four children. Ian always assumed it was because they had never been without one another, but Mickey said it was because they balanced each other out. Mayla had once chimed in saying it was a combination of their theories, which seemed true right now.

"Lee's right, Alek; your mama's gonna be just fine." Debbie told her nephew, leaning over to pat his knee. "He'll be awake and sayin' he wants his babies in no time." Ian loved his sister for being so good with his little boy.

"Hey, Fi and I were thinkin' we should go pick up your car for you." Lip quietly told Ian, standing up to run his fingers through Aleksandr's dark hair. "Mands, Zach, and Debs are gonna stay here with you guys and we'll be back as soon as we can." Ian nodded, tapping both twins on the back so they would climb down long enough for him to fish his keys out of his pocket and pass them to Lip; his SUV-A Saturn with third row seating he traded his Nitro in for when they found out Mickey was having twins-was the only car big enough to fit all of his children at once, and he would need it to take them home tonight.

"Thanks, man." Ian said, returning to his chair and letting Marley and Aleksandr crawl back into his lap. Lip nodded before he walked out with Fiona behind him. "Where's Arden?" Ian asked Mandy, realizing his nephew wasn't with them.

"He's with Liam. He said he'd watch the twins, too, but we thought they should be here." Mandy replied, moving to sit on the other side of Mayla; no kid-thirteen or not-should have to be as strong as she's being.

"Ian, do you have any idea what caused it?" Zach asked as he rubbed his wife's back.

"No, his boss didn't tell me anything about what happened before Mickey's attack." And he hadn't been in the right state of mind to ask, but that was left unsaid; it was fairly obvious he was a mess.

"Zach, sweetie, can you go get the kids somethin' to drink? We might be here for awhile." Debbie spoke up, looking at the four kids crying their eyes out as Ian and Mandy tried to comfort all four. This would be a long day for these poor kids, and she was determined to help keep them as comfortable as possible.

 

"Gallagher?" A doctor asked an hour later-after all four kids had cried themselves to sleep-into the waiting room full of people-now including Katia, Iggy, Frank, and Trevor-hoping to hear about Mickey.

"Debs, can you hold Lee?" Ian asked, he knew holding Aleksandr while he talked to the doctor would be no problem, but Marley was heavier and taller than her brother. Debbie nodded, scooping Marley out of Ian's lap so he could go talk to the doctor. "I'm his husband." He told the doctor as he adjusted Aleksandr in his arms.

"We stitched the injury on his head and administered some medication to help him remain calm as he woke up. He's up now and asking for a few people; Ian, Mayla, Kylan, Marley, and Alek." Ian nodded and signaled for Debbie and Mandy to wake the other three children so they could go see Mickey.

 

"Mama." Mayla sighed, running to the bed and hugging Mickey as soon as they entered the room. Mickey hugged his daughter back the best he could with IVs in his arm.

"Hey, baby." Ian greeted, setting Aleksandr on the bed and helping Marley up-both too tired to speak, but instantly curling up to Mickey-before kissing his forehead.

"Thought daddy was the dramatic one." Kylan joked, moving to hug Mickey once Mayla let go.

"You're a little shit, you know that?" Mickey sassed right back. Kylan just smirked, happy to hear his mama being sassy and sarcastic.

"Baby, what happened?" Ian asked, taking Mickey's left hand in his own.

"May, can you get the TV on and find somethin' for the kids to watch?" Mickey asked, letting his eldest daughter know he needed to talk to their father without wanting them out of the room. Mayla nodded and found a cartoon Kylan, Marley, and Aleksandr were instantly immersed in before Mickey started talking to Ian. "He came to my office." Was all Mickey said, but it was enough to piss Ian off.

Lloyd had been near his husband, and that wasn't fucking okay with Ian.


	8. You Are My Heaven

Lilah gave Mickey the rest of the week off and called Lloyd, refusing his account after he and Ian explained what was going on. Ian took Tuesday off to make sure his husband was doing okay-after being diagnosed with a mild concussion after his fall-but returned to work Wednesday. "May, Ky! Come on, dad's leavin'!" Mickey called up the stairs, balancing Marley on his hip.

"Can I stay with mama today?" Marley asked, hugging herself closer to Mickey.

"You gotta go to school, Diva." Mickey reminded the girl, kissing her hair before setting her on the ground. Mayla descended the stairs as Mickey stood back up, still working on pulling her long hair back. "Look pretty, May." He complimented, looking at her soft makeup and long, peach colored dress with a soft lacy overlay she'd picked out for school picture day.

"Thanks, mama." She replied with a smile, kissing his cheek softly. "Daddy still in the kitchen?" Mickey nodded, feeling a little sad that his baby girl was so grown up, now; she was becoming a woman, and it broke his heart, because she was still his baby. Mayla walked quickly to the kitchen.

"Mama?" Aleksandr quietly asked, pulling Mickey's pant leg. He looked down at his little döppleganger, seeing the boy dressed in the black button down Ian had selected for him. "Why are they taking my picture?" He asked, looking up at Mickey with those wide blue eyes.

"So daddy and I can have a picture of our little one." He told the sweet, shy boy with a soft smile, picking the small boy up. "We love lookin' at you." Aleksandr let out one of those rare, small laughs; Mickey loved those little laughs. "Gonna smile for us?" Aleksandr nodded. "Good. Go get your shoes." He sat Aleksandr down, looking up to see Kylan standing on the stairs.

"What if you pass out again?" Kylan asked nervously, looking down at his shoes. Mickey hated that he scared his babies; he never wanted them to feel afraid. "I don't wanna leave you alone, mama."

"Come 'ere, monster." Kylan ran down the stairs, hugging Mickey tight. "I'm gonna be just fine, Ky." He kissed the boy's red hair, hugging him back just as tight. "You're gonna go have a good day at school, get your pictures done, then come home and see that I was fuckin' bored out of my mind without you guys all day." Kylan laughed into Mickey's shoulder. "Go tell your dad you're ready to go," Mickey kissed his son's hair again. "Love you, monster."

"Love you, too, mama." Kylan replied, squeezing Mickey one more time before walking into the kitchen with Ian and his siblings.

"Headin' out!" Ian yelled, ushering the kids to the door. "Love you, baby." He whispered, pecking his husband on the lips. "I'll call you during my break." He promised before running out the door with their children.

 

"How's Mickey?" Sue asked Ian as they arrived back at the dispatch garage. He hadn't told his partner exactly what had happened to his husband, just that he had lost consciousness at work on Monday.

"Better; hates that he can't work, but he's doin' okay." Ian replied, hoping his face didn't give away too much about what was going on in his life.

"Somethin' going on?" Sue asked, glancing quickly at Ian. "Somethin' wrong with one of the kids?" Ian shook his head; even if his kids were deeply worried about Mickey, they were all doing just fine. "Mickey?" He cringed but shook his head, again. Mickey was doing much better after the headache and nausea from the concussion had warn down. "So you." He wanted to deny it, but this was his fault; even if he didn't intend to lead Lloyd on in any way, he seemed to have done just that.

"You remember me talkin' to a doctor Lishman when we took the girl from that house fire to General?" He noticed Sue furrowing her eyebrows, but he assumed she was just thinking.

"Didn't talk to anyone that night, Ian; you went outside to call Mickey and check on the kids." Ian thought she must have been wrong; he had to have talked to him.

"No, I had to have talked to him." Ian said, shaking his head; there was no way he didn't.

"Ian, I swear, you told me you needed to talk to Mick and walked out of the hospital to call him." He felt sick; he swore he had talked to at least one doctor, but now he was realizing he had two different nights blurred together. "What's goin' on?"

"He added me on Facebook-kept swearing he met me that night-and started sending me messages; kept flirting and shit, but Mick and I thought it was kinda funny so I didn't block him. Then the other day... let's just say the message was more intense. Then he went to Mick's office; Mick had a panic attack after he said he and I were in some relationship." Sue looked like she might puke the whole time Ian was telling her what had been going on.

"You need to talk to someone; get this over with." Sue said, taking a shaky breath through her nose. "If he knew your name, who knows what else he's figured out." Ian nodded, but was thinking about the other people Lloyd could get to; wondering if he could get to his children.

 

"May, that old guy's watchin' you." Mayla's friend-Lucy-said as they walked out of the school. Mayla looked up to see a man-roughly her Grandpa Frank's age-with a horrible spray tan watching her from across the street. She knew she'd never seen the man before, and he was definitely freaking her out. "Is that your grandpa?"

"No, you met my only grandpa." She knew that Mickey had a father, but she had no intention to meet him. "I've never seen him, before." Mayla didn't like the way the man was watching her; it was far too intense. Mayla's body relaxed when she saw Mickey's SUV-Virtually the same vehicle as Ian's, but where Ian's was grey Mickey's was blue-pull up to the curb. "Mama!" She yelled, jumping into the front seat.

"Stay here. Lock the doors when I get out of the car." Mickey instructed his daughter before jumping out of the car and marching over to Lloyd. "What the fuck are you doin' at my daughter's school?" He yelled, getting right into Lloyd's face. Lloyd looked surprised to see Mickey but recovered quickly.

"I didn't know you had a daughter." He feigned innocence, only serving to piss Mickey off. He didn't recover as quickly when Mickey landed a punch to his jaw. "What the fuck?" Lloyd yelled before Mickey threw another punch, fallowed by a knee to his groin.

"Stay the fuck away from my kids." Mickey seethed before throwing on more punch and walking back to his car as Mayla unlocked the doors.

"Who was that?" Mayla asked as Mickey drove away from her school. "Mama, tell me who the hell that guy was!" Mayla screeched. Mickey was a little surprised; Mayla never cursed, and she never yelled.

"We'll talk about it later. We're pickin' up your brothers and sister." He didn't want to talk to Mayla about this alone; he needed Ian to explain this to their baby girl.

 

"How did he know where I went to school?" Mayla asked after Mickey and Ian had put the younger kids to bed and sat her down to tell her everything.

"We don't know, princess." Ian told her honestly. He was happy Mickey had knocked the shit out of Lloyd, but he wanted to do it, himself; he'd gone too far by going to Mayla's school. "But we'll keep you guys safe." He promised, pulling her off the couch and into his arms. He needed this; needed his baby girl close to him and to know she was safe. He would do anything to keep his babies and husband safe.


	9. I Pulled You Closer To My Chest

Mayla slept in Mickey and Ian's bed for the first time in years after their talk, which neither parent minded; they wanted their girl close after what had happened. The next morning when the rest of the kids were getting ready for school, Mayla sat at the foot of their bed, playing with her fingernails. "I don't wanna go today, Mama." Mickey knew this had really messed Mayla up, because she never wanted to miss school.

"May, nothin's gonna happen to you." Mickey reasoned, smoothing a wild strand of her dark hair down.

"He knows where I go to school!" She exclaimed looking up at Mickey with wide, tear filled green eyes. "Please don't make me go, today, mama." Mayla begged, wiping her eyes quickly.

"Okay." He conceded, knowing she had every right to be afraid. "You'll stay home with me, today." Mickey left the room to tell Ian that Mayla was staying home and almost smacked straight into the man.

"She okay?" Ian asked softly, tipping his head in the direction of their bedroom.

"Too fuckin' scared to go to school today; gonna stay home with me." Mickey knew Ian would be okay with her missing one day-Mayla only missed school when she was incredibly sick-so he wasn't worried that his husband would try to change his mind on his decision.

"Figured as much. I gotta get the other kids to school so tell her I love her." Mickey nodded. "Love you, baby." Ian said, pecking Mickey on the lips.

"Love you." Mickey replied before walking back into their bedroom to comfort Mayla.

 

"How long's this shit been goin' on?" Carl asked as he and Ian sat at down for lunch. Carl had fallowed his dream of becoming a police officer, and-though he would still do dumb shit when he was off the clock-he was damn good at his job. Ian had called him, knowing that they couldn't handle the situation alone.

"That I know of? Two weeks, maybe. But he told me himself he'd been watchin' me, longer." Ian explained, looking down at the food in front of him, no longer hungry.

"Did you tell him anything about the kids that might've lead him to where May's school was?" Carl asked in business mode, but there was an underlying anger in his eyes; Carl was fiercely protective of his family.

"Replied to him maybe three times and it was tellin' him I didn't remember meeting him, I was married, we'd been together a long time, and one of my kids was sick."  Ian informed his brother.

"And Sue said you didn't even talk to anyone the night he claims he met you?" Ian nodded. "Could probably get a restraining order with no problem." Carl told him, popping a fry into his mouth.

"Think it would actually help?" Ian asked, though he had a feeling it wouldn't do anything.

"You block him?" Again, Ian nodded. "Then yeah; his only way to contact you would be breaking the restraining order and that'd get his ass arrested." Ian felt a little more hopeful, though he was still terrified he'd try something like he did yesterday, again. "The order would be extended to the kids, too, since they're all under eighteen." Carl said as if he'd read Ian's mind.

"Tell me how to do it." Ian said, praying this would be the way to get Lloyd out of his life.

 

"How old was daddy, here?" Mayla asked from her spot in the floor, surrounded by photographs. Mickey looked at the picture she was holding up of Ian in his little league uniform and smiled.

"Little older than Ky; eight or nine, maybe." Mickey replied easily.

"Looks just like Ky." Mayla commented, going back to the photos. "Can't believe how much he looks like dad. Or how much Alek looks like you, for that matter." Mayla had dug the old box of photos of Ian and Mickey out of the closet, but hadn't explained why. 

"Gonna tell me why the sudden interest in what your dad and I looked like as kids?" Mickey asked, watching Mayla sift through the photos.

"Aunt Fi got me an album when I asked you and daddy to get me a camera; wanna put some old pictures of you guys in with ours. I have new ones, but nothin' before I turned twelve." He remembered when Mayla had taken an interest in photography; he thought she'd get tired of it a week after he and Ian got her the camera for her twelfth birthday, but she still loved the thing. "Anyway, I was thinkin' of doin' a page of you and Alek and one of dad and Ky."

"Sounds great, May." Mickey loved the passion Mayla had for anything she did. She was so determined and strong-willed for as sweet and gentle as she was. Mickey's phone rang on the table, a picture of Ian with Marley and Aleksandr in his arms appearing on the screen. "Hey, babe." He answered, hoping Ian wasn't calling with bad news after he met with Carl.

"Hey, baby. Carl had a decent idea; might not feel the best while this shit is goin' on, but it's somethin'." Ian said, making Mickey take in a deep breath; he was scared to ask what Carl came up with.

"What'd the psychopath say?" Mickey asked reluctantly.

"Restraining order; since I blocked him the only way he'd be able to contact me would be breakin' it and it would cover you and the kids, too." Well damn, Carl actually had a good idea. "I gotta get back to work. Give May a kiss for me."

"Will do. Love you, babe." Mickey said, feeling the most relaxed he had since Lloyd showed up at his office.

"Love you, too." Ian hung up and Mickey looked back at his daughter. He leaned over and kissed the top of her messy black hair, softly.

"Dad told me to give you a kiss for him." He told Mayla with a shrug as that beautiful, bright smile came to her face. Mickey swore he would do anything to protect this girl; any of his children.


	10. Only Hope, Is To See You

For two weeks after Ian was granted the restraining order everything was fine; Mickey was back at work, Mayla went back to school, and Ian wasn't constantly worrying about Lloyd showing up at one of the kids' schools. The family was back in their normal routine, which included having dinner on Sunday with the combined family. "Alek!" They heard Arden shout as soon as they walked into the Gallagher house. The boy loved his younger cousin, even if Aleksandr was too shy to actually approach him.

"Hi." Aleksandr mumbled, clenching Mickey's pant leg. "I got my dinos." He shyly said, hoping the friendly boy would want to play; Aleksandr liked that Arden didn't try to make him talk.

"Cool! My daddy got me some new dinos we can play with, too!" Arden exclaimed, grabbing Aleksandr's hand and pulling him to the living room so they could play.

"Lee, go ask the boys if you can play; remember to be nice." Ian told his youngest daughter, knowing her diva-like personality tended to make her try to take charge when she'd play with Aleksandr and Arden. The girl nodded and ran over to her cousin and brother, sitting down beside Aleksandr and quietly asking for the blue Triceratops she liked, which Aleksandr happily handed over. "Those two are good for Alek." Ian commented as he, Mickey, Mayla, and Kylan made their way to the kitchen.

"Don't force him to talk; 'course he likes playin' with 'em." Mickey joked, moving to hug his mother.

"Did Arden find Aleksandr?" Katia asked, kissing her son's cheek. "He was waiting for his best friend to get here." Katia said with a fond smile as she moved to greet Ian. "How are you doing, Ian?" She asked him gently, knowing he tried to avoid talking about the situation with Lloyd.

"Good, Ma." Ian told his Mother-in-law sincerely. "Missed my favorite Milkovich, though." That earned a laugh from Katia and middle fingers from Mickey, Mandy, and Iggy.

"Thought I was your favorite?" Mickey asked, feigning hurt as Katia moved to hug her two eldest grandchildren.

"Not a Milkovich, anymore, baby." Ian reminded his husband, moving closer to his side. "You're my fifth favorite Gallagher, now."

"Fifth?" Mickey asked, raising an eyebrow in a way that said 'you better fucking rethink that' and made Ian want to laugh.

"May, Ky, Lee, Alek, and you." Ian said, kissing Mickey's cheek. Mickey seemed to accept that answer.

"Better all be tied, fucker; my babies are all fuckin' perfect." everyone laughed at that, but had to agree; Mayla was kind and caring, Kylan was far wittier than any seven-year-old should be, Marley was fiercely loyal to her siblings and always had Aleksandr's back, and Aleksandr was far too intelligent for his five years. They were-as Mickey said-all perfect in their own way. 

"First off, I helped make those babies, and second, they are; just listed 'em in chronological order." Mayla made a face as Ian spoke and he tried not to feel sad that his baby girl understood what he meant; she was growing up too fast for his liking. "And you, little miss, should not have understood that!"

"I'm thirteen, daddy; I've had health class." Mayla commented with the same disgusted look on her face that had her Aunts and Uncles holding back laughter. "And please never talk about doin' that with my mama, again!" She exclaimed, moving to hug each of her Aunts and Uncles.

"How you got here." Ian remarked, earning him a slap to the back of his head from both Mickey and Katia. "Why the fuck am I at the mercy of two angry Ukrainian Mamas?" He asked as he rubbed his sore head.

"Don't say that shit in front of my babies!" Mickey shouted, lifting Kylan-who was still light for seven-and kissing all over his face.

"What was daddy talkin' about?" Kylan asked through giggles. He could act so grown up some days, but all it took was being close to Mickey to remind everyone he was still very young.

"Nothin', monster; daddy's bein' an asshole." Mickey told his little Ian clone, kissing his turned up little nose. He loved that at least one of his kids looked just like his redhead. "Go play with Alek and Lee." Kylan nodded as Mickey sat him back on his lanky seven year-old legs and dashed to the living room.

"Can I laugh now?" Lip asked, watching Mickey glare at Ian. "'Cause watchin' Mickey go all protective mama was funny as shit."

"Fuck you, Phillip." Mickey shot back without much venom. "Your brother's fuckin' lucky that was the head I hit." And with that, the whole Gallagher family dissolved into a fit of hysterical laughter.

 

"Okay, show off, spell my name; Mama and daddy gave me the hard one." Kylan called out to his younger brother, who had shown the family he could spell both his and Marley's full names.

"Mama, is there a X or C-K-S in bubba's middle name?" Aleksandr asked Mickey quietly; he wasn't liking that everyone was looking at him, but he liked learning and was happy he had learned to spell both of their names.

"X, Baby." Mickey replied, moving Aleksandr into his lap so the boy would stay calm.

"K-Y-L-A-N L-O-X-L-E-Y G-A-L-L-A-G-H-E-R." Aleksandr spelt out before looking at Ian with wide eyes. "Did I get it right?" He asked hopefully.

"Sure did, little man." Ian said with a proud smile. "Teacher wants us to let him skip Kindergarten next year." Ian bragged.

"Gonna do it?" Fiona asked, watching Aleksandr as he uses his crayons to write his name in the front of his Spiderman coloring book.

"Talkin' about it, but we sorta want to keep him with Lee." Academically, Ian was sure Aleksandr could handle skipping a grade, but socially he wasn't sure he could.

"Arden'll be in first grade next year, so they'd probably be in the same class." Mandy offered, knowing Aleksandr loved being around his older cousin. "Since they're both Gallaghers it's not too hard to imagine."

"Plus, he would get bored in Kindergarten since he basically knows everything they'd be learning." Lip chimed in.

"What would he even have to do to show 'em he's smart enough?" Carl asked, stealing a piece of pepperoni off Kylan's slice of pizza-with no sauce, which Carl thought was fucking insane-while the boy helped his brother color a picture of Spiderman.

"Take a few tests, I guess." Mickey shrugged, handing a red crayon to Kylan. "Only talked to her about it once."

"Aleksandr is very smart, but would he be scared being away from Marley?" Katia asked, pulling Marley's dark hair back so it wouldn't get in her pizza.

"That's why we're hesitating; don't want him fallin' behind 'cause he's too nervous bein' away from his sister." Ian said, wiping pizza sauce off Marley's chin.

"Alek's too smart to go to Kindergarten just so he can stay with Lee, though." Mayla chimed in. "He could do the work in first grade easy."

"Monica and I didn't let Lip skip a grade when he was younger; wish we would've, now." Frank offered. "Alek is far smarter than he was at five. No offense, son."

"Nah, I know the little shit is, dad." Lip laughed, ruffling his own son's dark curls. "If Alek was in your class would you look out for him?" He asked Arden who was happily chewing on his pizza.

"Yes, daddy; Alek is my best friend." Arden told his father without a hint of doubt in his voice. No one could hold back the "awws" as Aleksandr smiled brightly at his cousin. "We can play together at recess!"

"Okay." Aleksandr nodded with a happy smile.

"So, I think the kid's okay with the idea." Iggy laughed, amazed that he had a nephew smart enough to skip a grade. "You know, when Mick was his age he could speak two languages; bet if teachers knew that he would've skipped a grade."

"Didn't he kick his preschool teacher in the balls for tellin' him he had to speak English?" Debbie asked with a little laugh.

"Asshole thought I was mumblin' in gibberish or somethin'." Mickey muttered with a scowl. "Got scared and forgot I had to speak English."

"What scared you?" Zach-who was a teacher, himself-asked.

"Kid next to me started screamin' over nothin', man." Mickey remembered, cringing at the memory of someone screaming like they were being murdered because they lost their green crayon.

"Mama, can I have the black crayon?" Kylan asked gently, but Aleksandr passed it to his brother, first. "Thanks, Alek." He said with a broad smile; he may be a sarcastic little shit, but Kylan loved his brother and sisters.

"Does he know all of his colors or just a few?" Lip asked, seeing that Aleksandr didn't even have to think before passing Kylan the right crayon.

"Most of 'em; has problems with shit like maroon." Ian answered. They worked with all of their kids on colors, letters, and numbers before they started school, but Aleksandr had picked it up quicker than his older siblings.

"What color is this, bubby?" Kylan asked, holding up a brown crayon; he remembered Mickey and Ian doing this with him once they'd shown him all of his colors.

"Brown." Aleksandr answered, only glancing up for a second.

"This?" Mayla asked, picking up a yellow-green one to give him a little more difficult of a color.

"Yell-ow-green." Aleksandr told his sister after looking at the crayon in her hand for a second.

"What about this one, Alek?" Ian asked his son, holding up the violet red crayon to see if he could finally get it.

"Uhmm... Purple red?" Alesandr replied as more of a question; he had a feeling he had the wrong name for it.

"Violet red, but I'll give it to ya." Ian said with a sweet smile; he didn't expect a five-year-old to remember the word "violet", anyway.

 

After dinner the whole family moved to the living room, letting the four younger children choose a movie to watch when there was a loud, frantic pounding on the front door. Ian stood to answer the door-after placing Marley in Mayla's lap-while Carl looked out the window closest to the door; he didn't want to take any chances with this many kids in the house. "Don't Ian." Carl said, trying to sound calm but Ian could see in his eyes that whoever was on the other side was bad news. "Think it's time to call the cops." Carl said, signaling for Ian to go back over to his husband and kids.

"You're a cop, Carl." Debbie reminded him loud enough that-hopefully-whoever was outside would hear.

"Need one on duty." He took his phone out of his pocket and made a call. Ian tried to listen to what his brother was saying, but Carl was talking so low all he managed to make out was "violating a restraining order." Ian felt his blood chill in his veins; he'd somehow fallowed them, here.


	11. Scream Your Name Through The Silence

"Mick, get the kids up stairs." Ian instructed his husband as Lloyd started pounding on the door again. He didn't want his kids down here when the door eventually gave in; this was his fight, and no fucking way were his babies going to get caught in the middle of it.

"No fuckin' way am I leavin' you alone with that fuckin' psycho." Mickey said adamantly, shaking his head as Aleksandr and Kylan both tried to get closer to him, obviously sensing something was wrong.

"Aunt Mandy and I can take the kids upstairs." Mayla offered, looking at her Aunt for approval. Mandy nodded, scooping her own son up as she stood and taking Kylan's hand. "Lee, I need you to fallow me, okay?" Marley nodded, though she still looked terrified. "Alek, can sissy carry you?" Aleksandr reluctantly extracted himself from Mickey's side and allowing his sister to pick him up. "We got this."

Ian was so proud of Mayla; he knew she was scared, herself, but she was putting her younger siblings first. Ian stepped closer to the door as the pounding got louder-sounding more like Lloyd was throwing his body against the door than knocking, now-ready to confront the man on the other side. "We need to talk about this, Ian!" Lloyd yelled, still trying to force the locked door down. "A restraining order? After everything we had?"

Ian was shaking at Mickey's side; what did this man believe was going on between them? Did he really believe Ian was invested in whatever relationship he'd created in his mind? "Friend of mine is only a few blocks away." Carl told Ian, trying to calm his brother's nerves.

"Open the door Ian; I'll forgive you if you just open the door." Lloyd said in a voice Ian assumed was supposed to sound sweet. "I still love you, my sweet boy." Ian threw up a little in his mouth. "Open," A loud thud sounded through the first floor of the house. "this," Another thud. "fucking," Another thud. "door!"

"The fuck are you doin'?" Ian heard Kev shout from the other side of the door. "Back the fuck up, man!" Kev yelled, clearly running up the stairs.

"Fuck off, Gigantor, this is between Ian and I." Lloyd spat. Ian had enough; this was over  _now!_ Ian threw the door open-despite his family trying to hold him back-and glared at Lloyd, who was standing face-to-face with a very pissed off Kev as Vee stood off to the side with her twin girls behind her. "Ian." Lloyd breathed, smiling a predatory smile at the handsome redhead in the doorway.

"This is what you wanted, right? To actually talk to me instead of fuckin' watchin' me every chance you get?" Ian challenged, trying not to sigh in relief when he heard Sirens coming up the street; in this neighborhood it's hard to tell if they're for Lloyd, anyway. "So talk; I'm standin' right here."

"Oh, Ian." Lloyd tried to take a step closer, but Carl had his Glock aimed at him.

"Wouldn't if I were you, fuckwad." Carl threatened.

"I could have you arrested for this shit, kid." Lloyd seethed at the younger Gallagher man.

"Fuckin' cop, dipshit; violating a restraining order, attempted breaking and entering, stalking, harassment... Think the case against you is worse than me protecting my brother." Carl was never one to back down, and certainly not one to be fucked with.

"Carl, this the guy?" A man asked as he climbed out of the police cruiser that had just come to a stop in front of the house.

"Sure is, Wade." Carl answered with a vicious smile aimed at Lloyd. "Took your sweet fuckin' time."

"Man, fuck you!" The taller man laughed, sauntering up to the porch. "So you're the guy messin' with Gallagher's family." Wade mused, looking down at Lloyd with a gaze that held utter hatred in those dark brown eyes. "Guy's got kids, man." Wade commented before cuffing a completely stunned Lloyd. Wade walked Lloyd off the porch-reciting his Miranda rights to Lloyd-and lead the older man to the car with one large, dark complected hand on his back.

 

                 One Year Later

Ian loved mornings like this; the mornings where he and Mickey didn't have to go to work and the kids didn't have school. Those were the mornings he could lay in bed, holding his husband in his arms without rushing to get himself or four kids through their morning routines. "Lee's gonna be in here, soon." Mickey commented, tracing the tattoo below the bend of Ian's left elbow-Marley's name-as his head rested on Ian's chest. Today was the twins' sixth birthday, and Mickey knew Marley would be her usual, excitable self all day.

"Hope the little brat gives us a few more minutes." Ian mumbled, pulling Mickey to lay on top of him. "Wanna cuddle her mama for awhile."

"You just wanna fondle my ass." Mickey chuckled, slapping Ian's hands away from his perky ass.

"Well yeah! It's a pretty great ass." Ian deadpanned, squeezing Mickey's ass cheeks in the palms of his hands. "Not my fault you got that goin' for ya." Mickey was laughing into Ian's chest now, and Ian couldn't be happier; for months after Lloyd was finally arrested Ian didn't get to hear that beautiful fucking laugh. He loved that Mickey was himself, again, and would do anything he had to to keep hearing that laugh and seeing the smile Mickey was trying to hide against Ian's chest. "No, I wanna see it!" Ian laughed, playfully wrestling Mickey onto his back so he could see his dimpled smile.

"Love that fuckin' smile." Ian whispered, leaning in to peck Mickey on the lips. "Might actually like that more than your ass." Mickey was laughing, again, and Ian felt like he'd accomplished something major.

"Mama! Daddy! It's our birthday!" Marley yelled as she entered there room-pulling Aleksandr behind her-with a wide smile on her face. "We get cake and presents!" She exclaimed, jumping onto the bed while Aleksandr climbed up much slower. They had a rough year, but their lives were finally back to normal. Ian thought as he and Mickey hugged and kissed their youngest two children, that maybe this was better than just getting to hold Mickey, alone; after all, they only had a few years of their kids being little to enjoy.


	12. For They're Designed, to Be Together

The whole party consisted of Mickey and Ian taking turns keeping Aleksandr from hiding-usually by telling him if he hid he couldn't play with Arden-and moving around each other and screaming, laughing children with a practiced ease that anyone could see came from years of being together. "You got the blue cupcakes, baby?" Ian asked Mickey as he picked up and arranged the purple cupcakes they had gotten for Marley on a tray.

"Yeah. May!" Mickey called into the living room. Mayla emerged from the room, her distressed jeans and grey t-shirt Mickey was sure had belonged to Ian at one point stained with paint, long, black hair pulled into a messy bun, and a wide smile on her face.

"Yeah?" Mayla asked, clearly enjoying her time playing with her brothers and sister.

"Go to our room and get me the lighter sittin' on my side of the bed?" Mickey requested, wiping blue icing off his hands and searching for the candles he needed.

"Sure thing! Oh, you gotta see the picture Alek painted; too freaking cute!" Mayla commented before darting up the stairs.

"When you were fourteen would you have gave a shit about a kids birthday party?" Ian asked his husband, laughing softly at how sweet their daughter was.

"Fuck no, man; barely cared about mine." Mickey replied, placing a green and blue candle in a cupcake for Aleksandr. "Only started carin' when we did May's first birthday party."

"Think it's a little different when it's your kids, Mick." Ian laughed. "She's an awesome fuckin' kid."

"Yeah, we did pretty good." Mickey agreed, turning around to place a feather light kiss on Ian's lips. "If Ky'd stop tryin' to find our fuckin' lighters and start a fire we'd be doin' even better."

"Lighter, sorry it took me a minute; had to grab my presents for Thing One and Thing Two." Mayla apologized, handing Mickey the red bic lighter as she adjusted two wrapped packages under her left arm.

"Thought you said you were just doin' crafts with them, this year?" Ian asked his eldest daughter. Mayla had always enjoyed drawing as a child and had developed a really amazing gift for art over the years. She had been teaching the twins to draw and paint-Marley, to help her focus, and Aleksandr, as a way to help him come out of his shell-since they were four.

"Couldn't just not get them anything!" Mayla exclaimed, as if not getting her youngest siblings presents for their birthday was a crime against nature.

"Alright, alright. Go get the kids." Mickey instructed with a laugh.

 

"Okay, Alek, this one is from sissy." Ian told his son-perched in his lap the whole time they opened presents-as he handed him the small package Mayla had wrapped in dinosaur wrapping paper. Aleksandr smiled-knowing he would love anything his "sissy" got him-and tore into the paper. Ian and Mickey had learned from Mandy that Mayla had asked her to take her shopping and used a good chunk of the money she saved up from babysitting to get the twins presents, and it showed in the set of medium-sized, moving dinosaurs Aleksandr had just unwrapped.

"Thank you, sissy!" Aleksandr exclaimed with a wide smile, launching himself at Mayla to hug her.

"You're welcome, sweetie." Mayla replied, hugging her younger brother back. Mickey loved his children-they were his whole fucking world-but he will always think he and Ian did their best parenting in the sweet, intelligent, beautiful fourteen-year-old girl currently helping their six-year-old son open his new dinosaur toys.

"Okay, Diva, this one is your present from sissy." Mickey told Marley, handing her the package wrapped in sparkling purple wrapping paper. Marley instantly set to work unwrapping the present, soaking up all of the attention she was getting today like a sponge.

"Thank you, Thank you,  _thank you!"_ Marley practically screamed, clutching the Batgirl doll to her chest. Much like Ian and Kylan, Marley had gotten into comic book adaptations-if only cartoons-and started collecting the DC dolls; Batgirl was the only one Mickey and Ian hadn't managed to find for her, yet. Before Mickey could say anything Marley was on her sister, hugging her and kissing all over her face.

"Welcome, Diva." Mayla laughed as her sister continued to kiss her cheeks repeatedly. Ian just smiled at his kids-Kylan helping Aleksandr learn the buttons on his dinosaur toys, and Mayla helping Marley open her new doll-thinking that he and Mickey had done an amazing fucking job.

 

"How the fuck do little kids make such a big mess?" Mickey groaned, dropping himself onto the couch next to Ian as they finished cleaning up from the twins' party. "Gettin' too old for this birthday party shit."

"You're thirty-two." Ian laughed, draping his arm over Mickey's shoulders. "We still got a few years left of birthday parties, baby."

"Damn. 'Least Alek didn't hide this year." Mickey yawned, laying his head on Ian's shoulder.

"Only tried three times; actually think he's gettin' better at the whole socializing thing." Ian agreed; Aleksandr had actually been doing really well after Mickey and Ian agreed to let him skip Kindergarten. "Think it did him some good, not havin' Lee around all the time?"

"Maybe. Still don't like my babies not bein' together; they've always been together." Mickey reluctantly admitted. He didn't like the twins being separated, though he could see that Aleksandr seemed to be doing better without having his sister to protect him at all times.

"They're only apart a few hours a day, Mick; I think they'll be okay." Ian had told Mickey this time and time again, but Mickey still wasn't crazy about his two youngest babies not having each other around to balance them out. "Come on, let's go get some sleep." Ian instructed, helping Mickey up and leading him to their bedroom for the night.

 


	13. You'll Always Be A Part Of Me

              Three Years Later

"Mama, I have no idea what I'm doing, here." Mayla sighed, looking down at the pile of college applications in front of her. Mickey was having a hard time believing his sweet girl would be going off to college next year. "Half of these schools want essays about what I've overcome and the other half want to know what I hope to accomplish. How do you even write something like that when you don't know what you wanna major in?"

"Calm down, sweet girl; just... Okay-not talkin' career wise-what do you wanna do?" Mickey asked, sitting next to the girl-who definitely shouldn't be awake at two in the morning worrying about admissions essays-at the kitchen table. "What's one thing that-no matter what you go to school for-you want people to remember about you?"

"I think I got it... I'll go to bed. Thanks, mama." Mayla said, standing up and kissing Mickey's cheek before disappearing up the stairs to her bedroom.

 

_"I can't tell you anything I've overcome, because I've always had my parents on my side to help me through any heartache, fear, happiness, sadness, and anger; no matter what I've said or done, my parents have been right there to hold my hand and coaching me through it all. And that is why-when I was up late at night and stressing myself out over this essay-I knew I could turn to my carrier parent-to my mama-and he would help me figure it out without realizing he'd done anything. He told me to think about what I'd want people to remember me for, no matter what I chose to go to school for, and it just made something click in my mind. I realized that-no matter what major I choose or what career path I end up in-I want to be remembered as being strong, caring, intelligent, and still down to earth like the men who raised me._

_I was born when my parents were just seventeen and eighteen respectively, yet they both finished highschool, were certified in their chosen career paths, and worked full time while raising me for the first five years of my life, when my mama decided to attend college to obtain degrees in mathematics and business management. Halfway through, however, he became pregnant with my younger brother, Kylan. This didn't stop him, as he graduated at the top of his class when Kylan was just over one and I was seven. He eventually gave birth to my two youngest siblings-Marley and Aleksandr-while still working full time as an accountant and making time to help Kylan and I with our homework and kiss us goodnight._

_My dad worked just as hard, working part time, attending high school, studying to become an EMT, and-of course-helping raise his daughter for the first year. After that, he was the one working mornings, then cooking and putting me to bed until Kylan came along, when he was the only one working full time. He would come home and helped me do any school work I had while mama did his own and kept mama sane while he was trying to balance being married, raising kids, working, and college. He did this all without ever once showing any signs of stress, because family is there for each other._

_My parents raised me-as well as my two younger brothers and sister-knowing we were loved and that they were always proud of us, no matter what we did. This is what I want to be remembered for; I want to be remembered for being as incredible of a person as my parents."_

 

Ian couldn't speak after reading Mayla's essay; it was beautiful to see how she felt about himself and Mickey. He simply pulled his daughter to him and hugged her close to his chest. His daughter is wonderful, and he couldn't fucking wait to see where she would go with her life.


	14. Just Like Me

                 Three Years Later

Mickey had decided the moment he found out he was carrying a boy his second pregnancy he wouldn't make his son find out if he was a carrier the way he had to. So once Kylan hit puberty they took him to his doctor so he could have the testing done. When Kylan found out he wasn't, he let out a small sigh of relief; Kylan knew that-since his younger siblings were twins-he would have a chance of carrying twins, himself. "It's not bad, Alek." Kylan promised his younger brother as he stood in their shared bedroom getting dressed for his doctor's appointment later that day.

"You know as well as I do that I'm gonna be a carrier, Ky." Aleksandr sighed, pulling a black t-shirt over his head. "Based on the fact that we have a male carrier as a mother there was a fifty-fifty chance it would have been you, and it wasn't. That means it'll be me."

"Would it really be so bad? I mean, after I told you I was worried about havin' twins you told me that it's statistically more likely to skip a generation. Plus, you're only twelve, kiddo; not like you're havin' sex. Wait, are you?" It was no secret that-much like Mickey-Kylan was protective of his siblings, and he doesn't want to think about his baby brother having sex just yet.

"No! God, Ky, I have plans for my future and don't wanna fuck it up by getting pregnant while I'm still in high school." Aleksandr groaned in exasperation.

"Gee, thanks." Mickey said sarcastically from the doorway.

"Sorry, Ma... I didn't mean it like that." Aleksandr mumbled. "Don't think I'd be strong enough to do what you and Dad did."

"I get it, kid; havin' a kid in high school wasn't planned. Gotta say, I don't regret it for a fuckin' second." Mickey told his son, seriously. "Look, if you're a carrier, we'll get you on birth control-not sayin' you should be havin' sex right now, 'cause you shouldn't-but I know it'll give you some peace of mind."

"You were on it when you got pregnant with May." Aleksandr said quietly. It was no secret to the Gallagher family that Aleksandr was gay, or that he was the most cautious of Ian and Mickey's four children. "There's not a high probability of it happening, but it's still possible."

"Alek, you're gonna wish I never said this, but Dad and I were shit at rememberin' to use condoms." Mickey informed Aleksandr. "We thought just 'cause I was on the pill we were safe." 

"What if I make the same mistake?" Aleksandr asked with tears in his light eyes.

"Wasn't a mistake for me, Alek; cheesy as it sounds, I was always supposed to start my family early. You're not." Mickey kissed Aleksandr's dark hair, patting his cheek lightly. "Don't even know if you're a carrier, anyway."

 

The house was unusually quiet when Ian walked in around five with Marley right behind him. "Hey, Diva, how was play practice?" Mickey asked as he descended the stairs.

"Exhausting! How many fucking times are they gonna make me run through my death?" Marley sighed, throwing her bookbag on a hook. "Gonna go shower; I smell like sweat from the damn lights." Marley was off up the stairs before either of her parents could say anything else to her.

"How'd Alek's appointment go?" Ian asked his husband, kissing his cheek when they entered the kitchen together. 

"He's a carrier." It sounded like a death sentence coming out of Mickey's mouth. "He's worried he'll end up pregnant before he finishes high school; says he's too much like me not to."

"Do you think it's a bad thing you got pregnant so young?" Ian knew the answer-neither of them regretted having Mayla when they were young-but he still felt the need to ask.

"No. But Alek's gonna do somethin' with his life; gonna get the fuck outta Chicago." Mickey said without a shred of doubt.

"Mick, you did great for yourself-not just for someone who had a baby so young, you did great in general-and Alek is like you." Ian tipped Mickey's face up, forcing him to look straight into his eyes. "No matter what, Alek is gonna do something fuckin' amazing. I promise."

"If he don't find someone like you when he does have kids I'm kickin' his little ass." Mickey swore with a sly smirk.

"A tall redhead?" Ian teased, backing Mickey up against the counter.

"Fuckin' perfect." Mickey breathed, pulling Ian into a heated kiss.

 

 _"Bein' a carrier isn't the end of the world, Alek."_ Mayla told her youngest brother over the phone. She missed her family; being on her own in St. Louis got to her, sometimes, but she called her siblings and parents any chance she got.

"Ma and Dad don't even know I have a boyfriend, May. If I get pregnant they'll be so disappointed." Aleksandr had a deep-seated fear of letting anyone down, but that fear was much worse with Mickey and Ian.

 _"This is gonna sound completely cliché, but you don't have to have sex with Case just 'cause you're dating; I had three or four boyfriends before I lost my virginity."_ Aleksandr was glad he had Mayla to talk to, but he didn't tell his sister he thought he was ready to sleep with his first boyfriend.

"What if I'm ready?" Aleksandr quickly closed his mouth, wishing he'd never said it.

 _"Alek, sweetheart, you're not even thirteen yet. I know Mama only ever slept with Daddy, but he was older when he lost his virginity... don't just give it away, you'll regret it if you do."_ Mayla said in a sad sigh.

"I like him a lot, May." Aleksandr defended.

 _"Do you love him?"_ Mayla asked gently.

"I don't know, maybe." Aleksandr didn't; he knew he didn't love Case, but the older boy was funny and looked at him like Aleksandr was beautiful. He liked feeling that attractive.

 _"If you're not sure, talk to Mama or Daddy about it; they'll help you figure it out."_ Mayla offered, sweetly.

"What if I do and I doubted it long enough to lose him? Hell, he could be the love of my life." He was being a petulant child-he knew that-but he felt ready. Well, he thought he was, at least.

 _"If you doubt it, he isn't. Trust me on that, Alek. I gotta go; got class. I love you, sweetie, tell everyone I miss them and love them and I'll see you next weekend."_ Mayla said in a rush.

"Love you, too, May." Aleksandr hung up and laid down in his bed, wondering if he was actually ready to lose his virginity just to keep Case around as he fell asleep for a short nap.

 

"Look so fuckin' good, baby." Ian moaned as Mickey rode him into the mattress. "Fuck, Mick!" He gasped, gripping onto his husband's slim hips when he slammed down, ass now flush against Ian's lap.

"So fuckin' big." Mickey moaned, rocking his hips slowly, gasping and moaning as Ian's cock rubbed against his prostate. "Oh God!" He couldn't take it, anymore; he was too fucking close, he needed to cum.

"Wanna touch you." Ian whimpered as Mickey started bouncing in his lap, again.

"Fuck yes! Do it, baby!" Mickey begged, digging his nails into Ian's chest. Ian took his left hand off Mickey's hip and wrapped it around the brunette man's leaking cock and started pumping his fist in time with Mickey's movements, swirling his thumb over the head before Mickey shot ropes of hot cum over his fist.

"Mickey!" Ian gasped, filling Mickey up as he reached his own orgasm. "Fuck, baby." Ian sighed as Mickey climbed out of his lap. "Fuckin' love you." He whispered, pulling Mickey down to kiss him, licking along the seam of his lips, begging for entrance. Mickey complied, coaxing Ian's tongue into his mouth, massaging it with his own as their lips moved lazily together.

"Still so beautiful." Mickey muttered as they separated to catch their breath, looking over Ian's face, brushing his fingers over the stubbled on his cheek with an adoring look on his face. "Got fuckin' lucky."

"Both did, baby; so gorgeous." Ian had a sappy smile on his face. Mickey chuckled softly, pecking Ian's lips before using a tissue to clean his hand and both of their stomachs of his own release.

"Go get me a beer?" Mickey asked with a faux pout on his face. Ian rolled his eyes before pulling on a pair of boxers and walking out of the room and down to the kitchen.

"Dad?" Ian jumped when he heard Aleksandr's voice from the kitchen table, having walked into the room without looking around, expecting all of his children to be sleeping. "Sorry. Thought you noticed the light was on." Ian felt stupid for not noticing that the light in the kitchen was in fact on.

"Just surprised me. What's up?" Ian asked, opening a beer and sitting at the table across from Aleksandr.

"How'd you know you loved Ma?" Aleksandr asked, watching Ian take a drink of his beer.

"He was my best friend from the time I was five, my first crush, and the person I leaned on the most. I knew he was beautiful, smart, funny, and kind and had a crush on him for years before I acted on it and... I don't really know how to explain it, it just felt right." Ian explained with a dreamy smile on his face. "Why're you askin', bud?"

"I have a boyfriend." Aleksandr shyly admitted. "He looks at me like I'm amazing and... I think he might love me, but I don't know if I love him."

"Well, bud, I can't tell you if you do or not." Ian said gently. "I hate that I'm about to ask my baby this, but, have you..." Ian trailed off; he couldn't ask his little boy-the boy that looked so much like his beautiful husband-if he had lost his virginity.

"No. But I think I might want to." Aleksandr looked away from his father with a blush on his pale cheeks.

"Can I tell you something?" Ian asked, watching Aleksandr closely as the boy nodded. "I lost my virginity to a guy I went to school with when I was a little older than you and then I was pressured to sleep with another guy. I regret not waitin' to lose my virginity to your mama, 'cause he's the love of my life; I regret it everytime I look at him, 'cause he waited."

"Did you think you loved the guy you lost it to?" Aleksandr asked with genuine curiosity.

"No. I was a teenage boy and I was horny; only man I've ever even thought I loved was your mama." Ian and Mickey had always been honest with their children, and right now Aleksandr was thankful for that. "Baby boy, I'm gonna tell you something I wish your grandpa Frank would've told me; you'll find someone who loves you enough to wait, and sex won't be important-yeah, you'll enjoy it-but you'll have something so much better."

"If... if I got pregnant, would you be disappointed in me?" Aleksandr looked up at Ian with wide, tearful eyes.

"No, Alek. We love you so fuckin' much, and we'll always be here for you." Ian reassured his youngest child.

"But you and Ma want me to do something with my life." Aleksandr whimpered, tears falling down his pale face.

"Your Mama had May when we were in high school and he managed to get his Mechanical certification, go to college, and graduate at the top of his class after he had Ky; gettin' pregnant doesn't end your life. You should wait, sure, but if you get pregnant we'll still love you." Ian promised vehemently.

"Thanks, daddy." Aleksandr sniffed. He hadn't called Ian "daddy" since he was seven, so Ian knew he was incredibly emotional right now. "I'm gonna go to bed, Ma's probably waiting for his beer." Ian laughed and nodded as Aleksandr stood up. "Night, dad. Love you."

"Love you, too, bud." Ian stood, taking another beer out of the fridge and walking back up to his and Mickey's bedroom. "Sorry, Alek needed to talk." Ian apologized, passing the beer to Mickey and climbing back into the bed.

"He okay?" Mickey asked with great concern.

"Yeah. He has a boyfriend." Ian informed his husband.

"No shit?" Mickey asked, lighting a cigarette-something they had just recently started doing in their bedroom after Mayla went off to college-and taking a drink of his beer.

"Yeah... I think we might wanna buy him some condoms, Mick." Ian winced. He didn't want to think about Aleksandr having sex, but he knew it would happen, eventually.

"Fuck." Mickey sighed sadly. "He's too young, Ian."

"I know, baby." Ian soothed, kissing Mickey's still damp hair. "I don't like it, either, but he's growin' up; they all are."

"Don't mean I gotta like it... he's my baby." Mickey choked slightly on the lump in his throat. "He's twelve, man; he's a fuckin' kid." Mickey hadn't felt old when Mayla turned sixteen, when the twins started school, or even when Aleksandr started high school, but Aleksandr possibly losing his virginity sometime soon? That had thirty-seven-year-old feeling fucking ancient. He really wished his baby boy would stay young, forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter felt a little long, but I'm fairly pleased with how it turned out. Leave some comments to let me know how you feel about it! Much love!


	15. I'll Still Sing The Same Lullaby

Aleksandr found himself becoming very dependent on Mickey after he found out he was a carrier. He felt the need to spend as much of his time around his Carrier parent as possible, and Mickey didn't seem to mind his youngest child-the child who had always been rather independent-clinging to him the way Mayla, Kylan, and Marley had when they were younger. "Mama?" Aleksandr rasped as he walked down the stairs one Monday morning, his nose, cheeks, and eyes all red.

"You okay, baby?" Mickey asked, moving to touch his son's forehead; he was burning up. "Shit, Alek." Mickey sighed, brushing his sweaty black hair away from his face.

"I feel horrible." The sick boy croaked out. "I have three tests today, though."

"I'll call your school and tell 'em you're sick; maybe you can go in Saturday and make 'em up." Mickey reassured the miserable preteen as he coughed and hacked. "Go back to bed; I'll make you somethin' for breakfast, okay?"

"Can I have some oatmeal and tea?" Mickey would never understand how the hell one of his kids actually enjoyed healthy food and fucking tea, but Aleksandr did.

"Want some blackberries in it?" Aleksandr nodded minutely, obviously suffering from a headache. "I'll bring it up in a little bit, baby." He kissed Aleksandr's hair and ushered the boy upstairs.

 

Aleksandr was bored out of his fucking mind being home alone all day while his siblings were at a school and his parents were at work. He couldn't read because his head hurt too bad, he couldn't sleep because his body ached too bad to actually lay down, so he was stuck in his bed with nothing to do.

_Mama: Hey, baby boy, you're probably sleepin but dad's droppin you off some soup for lunch and some medicine._

_Alek: I'm up. Thanks, mama._

_Mama: Try to get some sleep, baby boy. I love you._

_Alek: Love you, too._

"Hey, kiddo." Ian said softly as he walked into Aleksandr and Kylan's shared bedroom with a cup from a small Ukrainian restaurant Katia worked at as a line cook in his left hand and a bag from the pharmacy in his other. "Head feelin' any better?" He asked, setting the soup cup and bag on Aleksandr's nightstand before kissing his sweaty forehead.

"Not really." Aleksandr replied with a cough. "Thanks for bringing me soup, dad."

"No problem, bud. Your mom wants you to take that shit and try to sleep." Ian instructed his son. "Got you that green tea you like, too."

"Thank you." Aleksandr rasped. "God, I fuckin' hate being sick."

"I know, bud." Ian soothed, rubbing the boy's sweaty back comfortingly. "But your mom's right; the medicine's gonna help."

"I feel like a little kid these days; I stick to mama's side, went crying to him when I got sick, and I'm stuck in bed whining like a toddler with Mama having to remind me to take fuckin' medicine." Aleksandr whined. "Was mama a mess like this when he found out he was a carrier?"

Ian sat on the edge of the bed, taking a deep breath as he thought about how to explain the horrific way his husband had discovered he was a carrier. "Your mom didn't find out the same way you did, bud... remember when I told you I wasn't a virgin when Mama and I got together?" Aleksandr nodded. "Well, your mom was and his dad... he was a really bad fuckin' guy, Alek. He refused to let Grandma Katie take Mama and your uncle Iggy to get tested, so Mama just assumed he wasn't a carrier. We were together for a few months before we had sex, but we didn't think about protection-I was clean and Mama was a virgin-and that came back to bite Mama in the ass."

"You've been together since you were thirteen and Mama was fourteen... May wasn't born until Mama was eighteen." Aleksandr said, furrowing his eyebrows. "Mama always said he was on birth control when he got pregnant."

"With Mayla, yes." Ian said with a cringe.

"He had an abortion? That doesn't sound like him at all." Aleksandr coughed.

"No, bud... he was sick, and uncle Iggy took him to the clinic..." Ian could feel his throat tightening and his eyes starting to burn. "he was miscarrying. He didn't even know he could get pregnant, let alone that he was. As soon as he could he got on birth control so it wouldn't happen again. Then-less than two years later-he found out he was pregnant with Mayla." Ian sniffed, trying not to cry over his child who would be twenty-two-years-old if they had lived.

"That's why we want you to wait... Mama was with me-and we're still together and still in love-but he still got pregnant and lost his child. So, yes, he was a mess, but not because he was afraid he'd get pregnant and miss out on something, but because he felt like he didn't do his job." Ian said, looking at his poor, sick baby boy.

"A miscarriage has nothing to do with anything Mama did; it can happen to anyone." Aleksandr was almost crying, now; he had no idea Mickey had went through something so traumatic when he was barely in his teens.

"He knows that, now, but he'd tell you to this day that when you know your child died in your body you feel like you didn't protect them well enough or did something wrong." Ian wished Mickey didn't still feel this way after over twenty years, but he knew his husband would always blame himself to a degree for the loss of their first child.

"Dad?" Aleksandr asked, opening the cup of soup, breathing in the warm scent.

"Yeah, bud?" Ian asked, opening the pharmacy bag to pass Aleksandr one of the two bottles of green tea and a plastic spoon.

"I don't love him." For some reason, hearing what his parents had suffered through made him realize he wasn't in love; he couldn't picture himself having children with Case or spending over twenty years with him. He certainly couldn't picture Case being with him through something so traumatizing.

"You don't gotta find love young, Alek." Ian said in his most paternal voice. "I gotta get back to work, bud. If you need me or Mama just text. Love you." He stood up, kissing his son's cheek softly.

"Love you, too, dad." Aleksandr watched his dad leave the room and listened for his SUV to pull out of the driveway.

 

_Case: Hey, sweetheart! Missed you at school today. Where were you?_

_Alek: Woke up sick._

_Case: That fuckin sucks. Feelin any better?_

_Alek: Not really, but my dad brought me some Frikadelki._

_Case: He brought you what?_

_Alek: Frikadelki. It's a Ukrainian soup; turkey meat balls, potatoes, onions, and fermented herbs in chicken broth._

_Case: Doesn't "fermented" mean rotted?_

_Alek: Essentially, but it's really good._

_Case: Well, I'm glad your dad brought you some soup. I hope you feel better soon._

_Alek: Thanks... Case, I gotta tell you something._

_Case: What?_

_Alek: I like you, but I just don't think we work as a couple. I wasn't going to do this through text and I'm so sorry, but I don't want to lead you on._

_Case: I had a feeling. Can we still be friends? You're a pretty amazing guy, Aleksandr Gallagher._

_Alek: Of course._

_Case: Good. Hey, if you're gonna be out tomorrow I'll bring you any work you missed._

_Alek: Thanks, Case; that'd be awesome._

_Case: No problem. Get some sleep and enjoy your rotted leaves._

_Alek: Lol, it's good! You should try it._

_Case: Nah, I'm good. Night, Alek._

_Alek: Night._

 

"Hey, baby boy." Mickey whispered as Aleksandr woke up, brushing the boy's hair away from his face. "Feelin' any better?"

"No... my head hurts so bad, Mama." Aleksandr whimpered.

"I'm sorry, baby." Mickey sighed, scratching at the boy's scalp lightly. "I wish I could make you feel better."

"I just want my head to stop hurting." He sobbed. "It just keeps getting worse." Mickey continued to sit on the edge of the bed, massaging his son's scalp as he sniffed, coughed, and sobbed in pain.

"Hey, Alek." Kylan said softly. "Brought you some water." He sat the glass on the nightstand. "You look rough, kid."

"Be nice to your brother." Mickey warned his eldest son.

"I'm always nice!" Kylan gasped in faux shock.

"Bullshit." Marley muttered from the doorway. "Hey, bubba." She said in the softest voice Mickey had ever heard hid daughter use. "Got you some more blankets."

"Thanks, sis." Aleksandr rasped into Mickey's thigh. Mickey looked towards the doorway, seeing his husband watching Kylan and Marley dote on their younger brother with a soft smile on his face. There were days where they could drive both parents a little crazy, but in moments like this they could never imagine a life without these little monsters.

 

 


	16. Seeking Shelter

                Two Years Later

"He's not that cute." Aleksandr mumbled to Arden and Case as the three of them walk through the hallway. Case rolled his eyes, scratching the dark brown scruff on his chin, adjusted his thick-rimmed black glasses over the hazel orbs that Aleksandr had to admit were rather captivating.

"I'm straight and I'd bone the dude." Arden scoffed. "But he's an asshole."

"Still hot as fuck." Case laughed. "Anyway, he's movin' so it don't matter."

"Please use correct grammer." Aleksandr scolded gently. "Why are we talking about James, anyway?" Aleksandr asked as he opened his locker.

"Because my dear cousin, the guy wanted to fuck your pretty little brains out." Arden pointed out, opening his own locker. "Gotta say, though, he's fuckin' stupid."

"I'd rather not date someone I have to dumb myself down for." Aleksandr deadpanned. "Shit... Arden, do you have any cigarettes with you? Ky took mine."

"Yeah. How do you know it was Ky, though?" Arden asked, passing his cousin the extra pack of cigarettes he had.

"Because no one else knows the combination to my locker. Thanks." Aleksandr slipped the cigarettes into his pocket before taking his backpack out of his locker and closing the door. "Case, do you still need my Biology notebook?"

"Yeah, I can't fuckin' keep up in that class." Case sighed, draping an arm over Aleksandr's shoulders. "But, I have a genius best friend to help me."

"I'm not a genius." Aleksandr laughed, handing Case the notebook he needed. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Later, Blue." Case said, running off towards the locker room.

"My dad told me a story once about how close of friends your parents were before they got together." Arden mused.

"Yeah, so?" Aleksandr asked as they exited the school.

"He said Uncle Mickey was a trouble maker and Uncle Ian was the dedicated ROTC kid; total opposites, you know?" Arden asked, lighting a cigarette as soon as they walked out of the school.

"I already know all of this, Arden. So can you please just get to the point?" Aleksandr asked, lighting his own cigarette and adjusting his backpack on his shoulder.

"Case is a jock-a decent one, but a jock none the less-with a shit ton of friends, he's tall and out going. You're a short, introverted nerdy guy with two friends and one of them is your cousin. He's your best friend, but your opposite... ever think he's the Ian to your Mickey?" Arden asked as they walked towards Ian and Mickey's house.

"We dated before and it didn't work out." Aleksandr reminded his cousin.

"You were also twelve." Arden pointed out. "Look, Case is a good guy, Alek; you could do worse. And he's not stupid, so no "dumbing yourself down" so you can be with him."

"Yeah." Was all Aleksandr said as they walked into the house.

 

"Hey!" Mayla yelled as she entered the house around dinner. "Smells good in here."

"Thanks." Kylan said as he stirred the pot in front of him. "Grandma Katie taught me to make it."

"God I love Grandma Katie's cookin'." Mayla sighed dreamily. "Where's Mama and Daddy?"

"Lee's in trouble for some shit at school so they're talkin' to her." Kylan said with a shrug. "Always thought I'd be the troublemaker."

"She's been acting out since she started high school." Aleksandr mumbled from his spot at the kitchen table where he was doing his homework.

"Is that what we're callin' bein' a whore, now?" Kylan asked with a scoff. "Bitch got caught blowin' some dude on the football team."

"Kylan Loxley!" Mickey yelled. "Don't fuckin' talk about your sister like that!"

"Not my fault Marley's actin' like a slut." Kylan defended. "I mean, me and May ain't virgins, but we don't just fuck random-"

"That's enough!" Ian yelled. "Your mom said to fuckin' stop." Kylan shut his mouth quickly, not wanting to piss Ian off.

"Daddy, Lee's gonna be okay." Mayla assured her father. "I got my first tattoo in high school, remember?"

"That's a little different, baby girl." Ian sighed, sitting down beside Aleksandr. "She's actin' out and we have no idea what to do; never dealt with this, before."

"The fuck are we gonna do with her?" Mickey asked himself, almost silently.

"Did she say anything about it?" Mayla asked her parents.

"Fuckin' bitch blamed it on Alek." Kylan seethed. He loved his little sister, but he thought she was making the wrong choices and hated her blaming their sweet, gentle brother simply because he was shy and intelligent. "Said mom and dad show favoritism."

"No they don't." Mayla said vehemently. "They're just different people."

"What your dad and I said." Mickey agreed.

"What the fuck ever; everyone know your precious Mayla and Aleksandr are the favorites." Marley scoffed as she walked into the kitchen. "Sorry I'm not as perfect as the "angel" or the prude."

"Marley Jayden, go the fuck back upstairs if you're gonna start this shit." Ian ground out.

"Why the hell do you love them more than me and Ky?" She yelled.

"We don't Marley." Mickey said. "We love all four of you."

"Then what makes them so much better?" She growled.

"Fuckin' stop, Marley!" Kylan yelled, slamming the spoon in his hand onto the stove top. "Yeah, we all get treated differently, 'cause we all need different shit from mom and dad! So stop your petty bullshit and stop blamin' Alek for your mistakes!"

"Kylan, stop." Aleksandr said softly. "Marley didn't do anything to me."

"How fuckin' sweet of you to defend me." Marley sneered.

"Marley... go upstairs." Ian said again, sounding exhausted. "I can't fuckin' deal with you right now."

Marley rolled her eyes before marching up the stairs.

 

"Ky?" Aleksandr asked later that night as they laid in their beds.

"Yeah?" Kylan asked in the darkness of their room.

"Do you feel like Mom and Dad favor Mayla and I?" Aleksandr asked his brother sadly. He winced when Kylan turned the light on.

"No, man. You and May give mom and dad less shit than Lee and I do, but they love all of us equally." Kylan reasoned. "I can't keep my fuckin mouth shut, Marley's bein' a fuckin' handful, you're a genius who keeps to himself, and May's the nicest fuckin' person on Earth."

"I should have Marley's back." Aleksandr whispered miserably.

"And she should have yours instead of blamin' you for what she does." Kylan deadpanned.

"Is something wrong with me because I'm a virgin?" Aleksandr finally looked at his older brother, blue eyes locked on green.

"No. May was eighteen before she lost her virginity." Kylan reminded Aleksandr.

"But... is Marley right? Am I just a prude?" Aleksandr doesn't regret that he's still a virgin, but he was starting to think his sister may have a point.

"Can I tell you somethin'?" Aleksandr nodded. "I wish I'd waited a little longer, 'cause now I feel like I wasted it."

"There's nothing wrong with you, Ky. Just so you know." Aleksandr said softly.

"Thanks, bubba." Kylan said with a smile that reminded Aleksandr the world of their father. "Get some sleep, kid." Aleksandr and Kylan settled back into their beds for the night, both wishing they could do something to help Marley.


	17. Picking Myself Up, Again

Marley had always loved being the center of attention as a child; she'd thrived on everyone looking at her. But after she was caught in a rather compromising position with her eighteen-year-old boyfriend at school, she wanted everyone to  _stop_ looking at her. What made it worse, was that-after she had lashed out at her family and blamed Aleksandr for her own short comings-Kylan and Aleksandr were both avoiding her like the plague; at school and at home. "Alek?" She called out softly as she walked into the school library during lunch, knowing he was studying for some test in a class she'd never understand.

"Go have lunch with your friends, Marley." That stung; Aleksandr hardly ever called her by her given name.

"I wanted to talk to my best friend." She said, taking a seat across from her twin as he took notes from the huge textbook in front of him.

"I'm your brother, Marley; not your friend." Marley knew she'd hurt Aleksandr-hell, she'd hurt her whole family-but this felt unfair. "I'm really busy right now."

"We used to be best friends, Alek." She wanted to fucking cry; she really needed her brother, right now, and she'd hurt him badly enough that he'd built up walls around himself in a way he never had with her. "Is it okay if I talk while you work, then?" Aleksandr sighed, but nodded. "Todd's a senior. He said I was pretty and he paid attention to me; I'm a fuckin' freshman and a hot senior wanted to date me! Why wouldn't I jump at the chance?"

Aleksandr didn't say anything, but he stopped writing and looked up at his sister, so she took that as a good sign. "Everyone is lookin' at me like I'm a whore, now." She said, sadly.

"What's going on with you, Marley?" Aleksandr asked his sister, gently. "We used to be close."

"Todd... he's nice. He showed me how much more Mom and Dad love you and May; showed me he's the only one who loves me." Marley wiped her eyes as she spoke "But I'm fuckin' lonely without you and Ky."

"Marley... that's not nice, that's manipulative. Mom and Dad love you just as much as they love Mayla, Kylan, or I." Aleksandr said with a hard edge in his eyes. "Dad's off work; go home and talk to him... for me?"

"He hates me, now, Alek." Marley cried. "I don't want Daddy hating me, anymore."

"He doesn't hate you, he's worried about you; we all are." Marley nodded and stood up. "Marley?" She turned to look at Aleksandr again as he called out her name. "Don't be surprised if Todd doesn't talk to you, anymore."

 

"Lee? What're you doin' home?" Ian asked as he walked down the stairs, seeing his daughter in the living room. "Is somethin' wrong, baby?"

"I fucked up, Daddy." She launched herself into Ian's arms, hugging him for dear life as she cried.

 

"Todd Willard!" Kylan yelled as he walked into the locker room with Arden and Case at his sides. Todd turned around, his blond hair flopping into his eyes. "You fucked with the wrong girl!" Todd's friends all stepped back as Kylan, Arden, and Case approached the blond boy, Arden and Case holding him in place as Kylan proceeded to beat the living shit out of him. "Don't," A punch straight to Todd's mouth. "fuckin'," Another punch thrown at Todd's nose. "go," One to his cheek. "near," Another hit to the side of his face. "my," A knee to his stomach. "sister," A knee to his groin. "again!" Kylan finally stood up, spitting on the crumpled, older boy.

"This was Ky takin' it easy on you." Arden chuckled, slapping Todd's cheek before all three boys left the locker room.

 

"Lee, baby, you need to talk to a therapist." Ian said softly, sitting on Marley's bed as Mickey screamed at Kylan from the next room for attacking another student-even though Mickey was proud of him standing up for his baby sister-on school grounds and getting himself-as well as Arden and Case-suspended for a week.

"I'm not crazy, Dad." Marley sighed, leaning against her headboard with a cigarette in her hand.

"No, you're not. But you were in a manipulative, emotionally abusive relationship." Ian pointed out. "You're gonna need help getting over that."

"I don't need a damn therapist." She stated with certainty. "I just need some fuckin' time."

"Okay. If you need me or your Mom, we're here for you, baby." He kissed the girl's hair. "I love you, Marley."

"Love you, too, Daddy." She said in a much softer voice. Ian looked back at his youngest daughter as he exited the room, wishing there was more he could do to help the obviously broken girl in front of him. For now, though, maybe just proving he'd be there for her was enough.


	18. Don't Lose Who You Are

"She told her brothers he raped her or some shit." Some girl scoffed to her friend as Marley walked through the hallway with her head down. Everyone was talking about Kylan beating Todd up and she wished they'd all just shut the fuck up.

_Case: Hey, Diva._

_Diva: Hey._

_Case: People still givin you shit?_

_Diva: Don't think it's gonna stop any time soon._

_Case: Fuck em, you're gonna get past this shit._

_Diva: Why did you have to be gay? I could just date you!_

_Case: Lol, sorry, Diva; I kinda like cock._

_Diva: Do you realize how fuckin gross that is when I know you're into my brother?_

_Case: Not my fault Alek's cute. If it helps, if I was into women you'd be my first choice._

_Diva: Alek needs to get his head outta his ass; you're awesome._

_Case: Thanks, Diva. Love you._

_Diva: Love you, sugar._

"Hey." Aleksandr said, glaring at the group of girls clearly talking about his sister as he approached the other Gallagher. "Ky's dropping off lunch from Patsy's. Come outside with me?" Marley nodded, glad to have the distraction. She fallowed Aleksandr out, seeing Kylan leaning against the side of Mickey's SUV.

"Mom let you take his car?" Marley asked in disbelief. Even though he had his driver's license, Kylan barely drove because neither parent particularly wanted a sixteen year-old driving their vehicles.

"Wanted me outta the house." Kylan said with a shrug, handing each of his younger siblings a bag of food. "Dad came home for "lunch" and I really don't wanna hear that shit."

"Gross! I don't wanna think about Mom and Dad fuckin'!" Marley groaned, though Aleksandr just shook his head; they all knew their parents were still pretty sexually active-even after twenty-five years together-and were lucky enough to not have walked in on them. That didn't mean, however, that they hadn't heard some sounds that scarred them for life.

"How'd you think I felt? Swear they're doin' this just to punish me for gettin' suspended." Kylan said with a shutter. "Anyway, Alek, got you that salad shit you like. Lee, I got you the chicken strip basket." Marley smiled at her older brother; he knew her favorite comfort foods well enough to bring them to her. "Water for the weirdo who thinks salad is real fuckin' food." Kylan handed Aleksandr a bottle of water.

"It is real food." Aleksandr deadpanned, taking the water from his brother with a smirk that matched Mickey's signature smirk.

"It's what food eats, brat." Kylan laughed. "Cherry Dr. Pepper for little Diva." He passed the soda bottle to Marley.

"Thanks, Ky." Marley said sweetly. "Might wanna kill a little more time, though; Dad gets an hour for lunch."

 

"We might've traumatized our son, baby." Ian whispered against Mickey's neck as he stood behind his husband in the kitchen, arms wrapped around his waist as the older man made them each a sandwich.

"Brat shoulda thought about that before he got himself suspended." Mickey chuckled. "Kid bein' home on my day off was about to be a major cock block."

"We fuck every night, Mick." Ian laughed, kissing the side of Mickey's neck. "I shouldn't be proud of him, should I?"

"He did what we always taught him to; he had his sister's back. That don't mean he shoulda done it at school." Mickey wished Kylan hadn't hit the kid; it reminded him too much of something he would've done at sixteen. "He really is just like me when I was his age."

"Don't see the problem there. I think you were pretty fuckin' amazing when you were sixteen." Ian rubbed his hand lightly over Mickey's stomach, remembering when he'd been pregnant with Kylan. "Still pretty amazing."

"You're supposed to think that." Mickey laughed, flinching as Ian touched a spot on his stomach the redhead knew was ticklish. Mickey turned in Ian's arms, looking his face over. He'd changed so much since he was thirteen, but Mickey was convinced he'd gotten more attractive; his jawline was more defined, his shoulders broader, muscles more prominent under his skin, the freckles he'd always loved still littered his body but the were much lighter at thirty-eight than they had been at thirteen, the layer of stubble he now kept on his jaw making him the perfect combination of unkempt and put together, and those green eyes even brighter, now.

"What?" Ian asked softly, thinking something was wrong with his husband.

"How the hell do you keep gettin' hotter?" Mickey asked, tracing Ian's jawline with his fingertips.

"Think you just love me; startin' to look old." Ian said, looking Mickey over, now. Mickey in no way looked like he would be forty in just a few short months; his hair was still jet black, his only wrinkles he had were the crinkles he got around those outrageously blue eyes when he laughed, his body looked more toned than ever, and those adorable fucking dimples were just as prominent as ever when he'd smile at Ian. "God, Mick."

"What?" Mickey asked, smiling softly as he caught Ian looking at him with complete adoration.

"How the hell are you almost forty, baby? You still look like you did in your fuckin' twenties. That shit just ain't fair." Ian sighed, dreamily. "You're fuckin' gorgeous."

"Full of shit, man." Mickey scoffed, slapping Ian's chest, lightly. "Need to eat; gotta get back to work, soon."

"Yeah." Ian leaned down, kissing Mickey lightly on the lips, moving so they could sit down and eat.

 

"You should give Case a chance." Marley told Aleksandr as they sat on the couch after dinner while Kylan did the dishes and Mickey helped Ian wrap his bruised ribs from a patient kicking him shortly after his lunch break. "He's a great guy."

"Yeah, he is." Aleksandr agreed. "Why are you telling me that, though?"

"Because he texted me, earlier to check on me-hell, he helped Ky beat the shit outta Todd-and I'm just his friend's sister." Marley said softly. "You could sure as hell do worse; I did."

"Yeah." Was all Aleksandr said. Both twins jumped slightly when Marley's phone went off on the table. Marley checked it, seeing a notification from Facebook.

 **_Mayla Gallagher:_ ** _This song reminds me the world of my baby sister. Don't lose who you are, Lee; you're amazing. With- **Marley Jayden Gallagher**_

Marley opened the link Mayla had posted, seeing Ed Sheeran singing a cover of some song by Jessie J. "I love that song." Kylan said as he walked into the living room. "Why're you listenin' to it?"

"May tagged me in it." Marley said. "Said it reminded her of me."

"She's right; you shouldn't lose yourself, Lee." Aleksandr said, laying his head on Marley's shoulder. Marley leaned her on head over, resting her head on top of Aleksandr's as the song continued to play.

"I think I'm gonna talk to a therapist." Marley said, glad neither of her brothers made a big deal out of it.

_**Marley Jayden Gallagher:** Thanks, sissy._

 

Kylan took his phone out once Aleksandr had fallen asleep and turned it to vibrate so he wouldn't wake the younger boy.

_Kylan: Thanks for taggin Lee in that; she's gonna talk to a therapist._

_May: Thank God; I was worried about her._

_Kylan: Same here. She's stickin pretty close to Alek these days._

_May: They were always closer than the rest of us._

_Kylan: Think that's just a twin thing?_

_May: Maybe. I really think it might be because they're so different; they keep each other grounded._

_Kylan: True. I'll keep you updated._

_May: Thanks, Ky. Love you, little brother._

_Kylan: I love you, too, sissy._

Kylan knew recovering from the issues she'd developed recently would be hard for Marley, but their family always stuck together, so she had the best support system in the world. He fell asleep watching his younger brother and wondering how the hell he was going to keep his younger siblings from going through any more pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Ed Sheeran's cover of "Who You Are" by Jessie J. If you've never heard it, I'd highly recommend it. I love reading comments so leave some on this chapter to let me know what you think. Much Love!


	19. Finding Love

Each of Ian and Mickey's children had a favorite Aunt or Uncle; Mayla had always favored Mandy, Kylan worshiped the ground Carl walked on, Marley adored Fiona, and Aleksandr had never hidden the fact that Debbie was his favorite. They loved every member of their huge fucking family, but they could always turn to their favorite Aunt or Uncle when they had a question. That was why Kylan found himself at his Uncle's apartment seeking advice. "Hey, Ky!" His uncle Carl's fiancée-Eva Walters-answered the door with a broad smile on her face. Eva was pretty; a medium skin tone, long, naturally curly dark hair, grey eyes that stood out in a striking manner against her skin tone, a slightly turned up nose that looked adorable on her, full lips, a round face, and a short, curvy body. Kylan thought she was a step up from his Uncle's cheating ex-wife-who was a pretty woman-mostly due to her sweet personality.

"Hi, Aunt Eva... Uncle Carl home?" Kylan asked, glancing down at Eva's rounded abdomen. His Uncle loved children, and that was a huge problem in his marriage to Dominique; he wanted to start a family, and she didn't. Now, he had a ten-month-old son-Wyatt-with Eva and she was three months pregnant with their second child.

"He's changing Wyatt. Come on in, sweetie." Eva said, stepping aside so Kylan could enter the spacious apartment. "The baby kicked today." Eva informed her nephew-because fuck whoever thought the boy wasn't her family-with a smile.

"That's great." He said with a warm smile. He loved his Aunt-something he had never considered his Uncle's ex-wife-and was incredibly happy for her and his Uncle. "Do you want another boy or a girl this time?"

"Your Uncle wants a girl, but I always wanted two boys." Eva replied easily. "Gonna find out, soon."

"Got any names?" Kylan asked, taking a seat at the breakfast bar.

"Cole Rhodes for a boy. Carl wants to name it Brynn Roux if it's a girl." Eva informed the redheaded boy. "I love the names, but I feel like we're havin' another boy. Hey, honey! Look who came to visit!" Eva exclaimed as Carl exited Wyatt's bedroom with the baby in his arms.

"Hey, Ky." Carl said, patting his nephew on the back. "What's up, man?"

"Can't just wanna come see my favorite Aunt and Uncle?" Kylan sassed, taking his cousin into his arms. "Hi, Wyatt! Defiantly got your looks from your Mama!"

"Fuck you." Carl laughed. "My boy looks like his Daddy!"

"Carl, honey, he looks just like me." Eva laughed. "Maybe Cole will look like his Daddy."

"Brynn's gonna look just like her Mama." Carl shot back. "So what's up, kid?"

"Can I ask you somethin'?" Kylan asked, still looking down at the baby in his lap.

"Sure." Carl shrugged, sitting on the barstool closest to his nephew.

"How'd you know you were in love?" Kylan asked shyly. He had recently started dating a girl in his class and actually thought he might love the beautiful brunette girl. He had dated several girls-and just as many guys-but had never felt a real connection until now.

"With Dom? I had been with her since I was younger than you are. That wasn't fuckin' real, though; that was all I knew. With Eva?" Carl reached across the counter, lacing his fingers through his Fiancée's with an adoring expression Kylan had never seen on anyone aside from his parents. "She's everything I wanna be; she's smart as fuck, funny as all hell, and family comes first for her. How could I not love someone like that?"

"Why are you askin', handsome?" Eva asked her nephew as she stared at her fiancé.

"Got a girlfriend-Allison-and I think... I think I'm in love." Kylan said, looking down at his cousin to hide his blush. "She's gorgeous, sarcastic, tough, and she's just... she's different, you know?"

"You're gonna have to figure it out for yourself, kid, but if it's the real thing? You'll just know." Carl said in a much more mature manner than Kylan was used to from his Uncle. He nodded, wondering if he had found what his parents, Uncle Carl, Uncle Lip, and Aunt Mandy had found.

 

Akeksandr had went with Ian and Marley for her first session with her therapist as moral support. Now he found himself in the waiting room with his father as Marley talked to her therapist on the other side of the wall.

_Case: Hey, Blue. How's Diva doin?_

_Alek: She's with her Doctor._

_Case: Hope it helps._

_Alek: Me, too. How did your parents react to you being suspended?_

_Case: They understood I did what I did cause I love Diva._

_Alek: Thank you for standing up for my sister._

_Case: Marley's important to you, Alek. That means she's important to me._

_Alek: Why would that matter?_

_Case: You know why, Alek._

_Alek: Don't do this to me, Case; you're my best friend, and if it didn't work I couldn't lose you._

_Case: You'd never lose me, Blue._

_Alek: You can't know that._

_Case: Yes I can. Look, you're my best friend, but you're also the only guy I've ever fought this hard for._

_Alek: Why?_

_Case: Because you're different; you don't fall all over me and you're not interested in my popularity. I like how unique you are. Doesn't hurt that you're stunning._

_Alek: No I'm not._

_Case: Are you kidding me? Those eyes are the most beautiful things I've ever seen, Blue! That smile makes me feel like I accomplished something amazin... you're beautiful, Alek._

_Alek: I need to think about this. Can I talk to you later? Marley's about to finish up with her therapist._

"What's up, bud?" Ian asked, glancing over at his son, who was staring down at his phone.

"Was I wrong to break up with Case?" Aleksandr asked without looking away from his phone.

"No; you didn't think you worked as a couple. You can't stay with someone if you don't see it going anywhere." Ian stated calmly. "Why?"

"Because everyone thinks I should give him a chance, and I'm starting think they're right." Aleksandr admitted. "He doesn't just see me as the weird genius or Kylan's little brother; he sees Alek."

"If you think you should give him a chance, do it. If things don't work, you can go back to just being friends." Ian reassured Aleksandr softly. He liked Case, but he honestly hated the idea of Aleksandr dating.

 

"So you think it's gonna happen?" Mickey reluctantly asked Ian later that night as they sat on their back porch smoking.

"Yeah, I do. I don't want him datin' at all, but he could do worse." Ian sighed, watching the smoke curl delicately in the air. "Keep forgettin' that I was already with you for almost a year when I was his age."

"We had shit parents. I mean, my mom was always a good parent, but she was with Terry. We could've fuckin' ran away and no one woulda noticed." Mickey pointed out. "We actually give a shit about our kids."

"Yeah." Ian watched the cherry of Mickey's cigarette create shadows on the older man's face. "Hate how grown up he is."

"I do, too, baby, but he's a good fuckin' kid." Ian nodded in agreement, eyes still on his husband. Their youngest child was fourteen, so their house would be empty in four years; he would be forty-three and Mickey would be forty-four, and all of their children would be out of the house. The thought made Ian sadder than he would have expected, but he knew they would always love their babies and be there for them.


	20. Open Letters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I spend a lot of time as I write this thinking about how the kids feel about Mickey and Ian, so I decided I'd write open letters from the prospective of each child.

_""To The Men Who Had To Grow Up Too Quickly For Me" By Mayla_Kayelyn._

_You were too young to be thrust into adulthood because I joined you, but you loved me and gave me the best life I could ask for. You listened to my problems, held me when I cried, let me express myself, and trusted me to make good choices even when I didn't trust myself. I can't imagine what it must have been like to give up your own lives to raise a child when you were still children, yourself, but I'm so thankful you did. I know for a fact I would have never been as well adjusted as I am if I had been raised by anyone else, because we grew up together._

_I'm sure there were times you regretted becoming parents so young, but you never showed it; you did everything in your power to keep my siblings and I happy, healthy, and blissfully unaware of the stress we put on you. Thank you for growing up when you were still just teenagers, and I'm sorry I forced that on you."_

 

_""To The Fathers Who Never Had Them, Themselves." By Kylan_Loxley_

_People say raising children isn't an exact science; that you're bound to make mistakes as you go. That's complete bullshit. I was raised by two men who were fantastic fucking fathers, despite not having role models to base their own parenting styles on. One of you had an abusive father, the other an absent father, and only one of you had a mother who was worth shit. Thank you for working your asses off to be good fathers when you didn't know how when my sister was born._

_I had a wonderful childhood, because the two of you wanted to be the best parents you could, spending time with each of your four children to show us that we're loved and that you give a shit about what's going on in our lives. I've made it my mission in life to be a good man, because I had the best examples to go by."_

 

_""To The Men Who Loved Me At My Worst." By Marley_Jayden_

_I recently went through a hard time after spending months in a manipulative relationship, and I believed everything he said about you; that you didn't love me, that I was a burden, and that you wished my twin brother had been a single birth. I lashed out, and I did things I regret, now, but you always tried to help me and loved me even when I said horrid things to you. Once I realized how wrong I was, all I wanted to do was lay down and cry, because I knew I'd hurt you, my brothers, and my sister. But did you hold it against me? No, you stood by me as I got my shit together._

_So thank you, for still seeing the little girl you had loved since she was born, and thank you for never giving up on me even when I gave up on myself. You have raised four children, and you've done an amazing fucking job. I love you, and I'm thankful everyday that you're in my life."_

 

_""To The Men Who Made Me." By Aleksandr_Mason_

_I am the youngest of your four children-the shy one-but you never let me feel forgotten. You allowed me to isolate myself when I needed to, forced me out of my shell when necessary, were proud of my accomplishments, and helped me learn from my mistakes. I was a surprise-given you wanted one more child and ended up with two-but you never looked at me as a mistake; I was just Alek, your youngest child who you loved unconditionally, just like my three older siblings._

_When I found out I was a carrier, I thought my life was over, but I later realized it was just another thing to learn from and another thing to be proud of, because it made me more like Mama. I had always known I was quite a bit like you, but this cemented it; I could accomplish great things even if I had a child young, because you did. You two have shown me what true love and real strength look like, and I'll spend my entire life trying to live up to the amazing example you've set for all four of us. I love you, and I hope I make you proud."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me some comments, you beautiful creatures. Much Love!


	21. It Breaks My Heart

Mickey and Ian had always been able to handle any obstacle thrown their way. That is, until their daughter's manipulative relationship left scars on their perfect little girl they couldn't heal. Marley would smile, but it didn't reach her eyes, she would speak, but only when spoken to, she shied away from attention and clung to her twin like a lifeline. In short, she wasn't the Marley her parents knew.

"Lee, you okay, baby girl?" Mickey asked as he and Ian walked into the house after Kylan had forced them to go on a "date night" while Aleksandr helped Arden and Case catch up on his school work. The couple found Marley sitting alone in the living room, curled up on the couch with Phantom-the cat Ian had gotten the kids after Onyx died-in her lap.

"Just tired." Marley said in a rather dull voice, stroking Phantom's black fur.

"Of what, baby?" Ian asked, sitting down on the coffee table, looking his daughter in the eye.

"Everyone fuckin' lookin' at me like I'm just some whore!" Marley exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. "I made a mistake, is it really gonna fallow me forever?"

"Lee... people are gonna talk about it." Mickey said cautiously. "It's high school; people talk shit about other people to feel better about themselves."

"Did people say shit to you about gettin' pregnant with May?" Marley asked, taking one of Ian's hands and tracing invisible patterns in the pale, freckled skin.

"Not to my face, but I heard 'em talkin' about it behind my back." Mickey wished more than anything that his daughter didn't have to go through this, but Marley was strong; she would come out of this with her head held high. "But you know what? I had your Dad there to help me."

"Todd was a piece of shit, though." Marley said quietly.

"Yeah, but you got Mama, May, Ky, Alek, Case, Arden, your Aunts, Uncles, grandparents, and I; we got your back." Ian reassured the girl. "You got this shit, baby."

"What if I don't?" Marley asked, looking between her parents.

"Then you got your family to handle it." Mickey said, rubbing her shoulders. "We love you and we're gonna have your back no matter what, sweetie."

 

"She's never gonna be the same, is she?" Ian asked his husband once Marley had went up to bed.

"No." Mickey replied, sadly. "Happened to Mandy, remember? Shit only changed when she got with your asshole brother."

"Stop actin' like you and Lip don't get along." Ian teased. "What if she can't handle it, Mick? She's only fourteen; she barely knew who she was before that little motherfucker put those ideas in her head." Ian was well aware this could have a lasting effect on Marley, and that scared him shitless.

"If anyone can do this, it's Lee." Mickey promised Ian quietly. "She's stronger than anyone I ever met."

"Yeah." Ian agreed, halfheartedly.

"She's also got two brothers who go to the same school and would fuckin' kill for her." Mickey reminded the redheaded man. "This ain't gonna break Marley, 'cause the boys won't let it."

 

Marley had thought her therapist was a fucking moron when she suggested she keep a journal, but she found she actually felt a little better once she wrote down what she felt; she could always tell her family how she felt and them listen, but it felt better to get it down on paper without someone trying to make her feel better about it.

 _Everyone looks at me differently, now; even Mom and Dad, though they'd deny that to their fucking graves. I can see that they don't know what I'll do next everytime they look at me. Can't say I blame them; I fucked up more than Mayla, Kylan, and Alek ever have in their entire lives in one day. They still love me, and I know they still see_ Marley,  _but they're also waiting for me to fuck up, again. This is going to follow me the rest of my life. I just want it all to stop; the embarrassment, the sadness, the fucking Earth-shattering pain... just all of it._

_The worst part, is how badly I hurt the people who are still standing by my side once the dust settled. I thought I'd get over how badly knowing I hurt Mom and Dad-how badly I hurt my whole family-hurts me, but I just can't. Shouldn't this shit be getting easier? Then again, maybe it never will. I'm just so fucking tired, and no amount of sleep makes it any better._

Marley placed her journal back on her nightstand, took the antidepressant her therapist prescribed,-which she had told Marley would take about a month to take effect-and laid down to attempt to sleep, unaware her parents were standing just outside the door-which she always left cracked-barely holding it together as she wiped tears from her eyes. Their baby girl's heart was broken, and it broke theirs to see.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me some comments and let me know what you think about this chapter, beauties! Much love!


	22. Who You Are

_"Don't lose who you are in the blur of the stars! Seeing is deceiving, dreaming is believing, It's okay not to be okay. Sometimes it's hard to follow your heart. Tears don't mean you're losing, everybody's bruising, Just be true to who you are!"_ Kylan strummed the guitar in his hands as he sang, loving the familiar sting in his calloused fingers as they danced across the strings. This was his escape; his talent that no one could take from him.

"You sound great, Monster." Ian complimented from his spot in the doorway of the bedroom Kylan shared with his younger brother.

"Thanks, Dad. How's Lee?" Marley had just gotten home from her session with her therapist, and Kylan intended to keep the promise he made to Mayla.

"She's tired, but she seems like she's doin' better." Ian replied, walking into the bedroom and taking a seat on Aleksandr's bed. "How are you doin'? Feels like I haven't talked to you in awhile."

"Worried Lee's gonna off herself and Alek's gonna end up pregnant before he turns sixteen. Other than that? Fuckin' peachy." Kylan replied sarcastically.

"Hey," Ian moved to Kylan's bed, taking his guitar and setting it on the floor. "we're gonna get Lee through this; all of us. And Alek? He's a smart kid; you don't gotta worry about him." Ian sighed, ruffling his son's hair. "You don't need to worry about your brother and sister. Leave that to your Mom and I, okay?"

"They're my family, Dad, I'm always gonna worry." Kylan said sadly. "Just want Lee to be Lee, again, you know? I actually miss her stealin' everyone's spotlight. And Alek has no fuckin' confidence. He's afraid to be Alek around most people."

"You know, your Mom and I never thought we'd have four kids-thought we'd have two or three, at most-and we were both scared shitless when we found out your Mom was pregnant with twins. We were sure we'd fuck up, somehow, but you know what? We have the four best fuckin' kids anyone could ask for. You're all gonna make mistakes, but at the end of the day? You do what's right." Ian told his son, pulling him closer to his side. "You're all gonna be okay. I know it."

"Lee's broken." Kylan sniffed, trying to hold back tears. "My baby sister's hurtin' and I can't do shit to help her, Dad! I'm supposed to protect her!"

"You beat the shit outta the guy who hurt her, Ky." Ian tried to comfort his son with his words, but he knew how Kylan felt; he felt like he'd failed Marley, too. "You're doin' everything you can for her."

"Don't feel like enough." Kylan sniffled. "She needed me to have her back, and I ignored her."

"She knows you love her, Kylan." Ian said as softly as he could. "And she loves you." Marley stood against the wall outside Kylan and Aleksandr's room listening to her father and brother, feeling more determined than ever to get past the shit she'd been through than ever; if not for herself, then for her family.

 

_"I've always looked up to my brother, Kylan, and my sister, Mayla; they're strong, brave, and have better hearts than this world deserves. They're everything I ever wanted to be and more, yet they look at me like I'm perfect in my own way. I heard Kylan telling our Dad that he felt like he let me down, and I realized something; my family is hurting. Not for themselves, but for me. I want to be better, because I know my family just wants me to be happy; not for selfish reasons, but because they love me."_

Marley felt like that one paragraph was all she needed to say; she wrote it down as a reminder to herself more than as a therapy tool. "Hey, Diva." Marley looked up, seeing her sister in the doorway. "Room looks so much bigger, now." Mayla commented, looking around at the room Marley had redecorated recently; she got a full size bed with a cast iron frame, pale orange and light pink bedding, the walls were now painted a deep pink on two walls and a warm gold on the other two, pale grey curtains covered the window, and fairy lights framed the walls. It was Marley's space now, and it matched the girl's vibrant personality. "Looks nice."

"Thanks. What're you doin' here?" Marley was happy to see her sister, but she had been busy, recently and hadn't been to the house, much.

"You need someone to talk to and you're in a house full of guys." Mayla sat next to Marley on the bed, her tanktop showing off the beautiful floral sleeve tattoo on her right arm, the dandelion tattoo on her left forearm, and their parent's initials on the side of her left thumb; the tattoo she got when she was sixteen. "You need to cry? I'll cry with you. You need to scream? I'll listen. You need to hit something? I'll be your punching bag."

"I'm not gonna hit you." Marley scoffed. She loved her sister more than ever for coming over to talk to her when she needed her big sister. "May... I hurt Mama and Daddy. I hurt Alek and Ky... I probably hurt you, too."

"We don't give a shit, Lee; we've all said things we shouldn't have." Mayla offered.

"How can you guys still love me?" Marley sniffed, wiping her eyes quickly.

"Because you're Marley; you're funny and always the center of attention. Not because you demand it, because everyone is drown to you." Mayla said with determination. "You're a star, Lee; don't let this shit steal your light."

"I don't wanna hurt anyone else." Marley sobbed, throwing herself into Mayla's open arms. "I fuckin' hate that I hurt everyone."

"We'll get you through this, Lee." Mayla whispered, holding her baby sister as she cried. "We'll be here for you every step of the way." Mayla promised, kissing the top of Marley's head. This was what Marley needed from her sister, and Mayla would give it to her, because she loved her sister and only wanted her to feel like herself, again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love reading your comments, guys! I'm serious, they make my day everytime I read them. Thank you all so much for reading my stories and commenting, you're amazing. Much love!


	23. Sleeping On The Floor

"Hey, Ky, can I borrow your phone? Mine's dead and I wanna listen to some music while I do my homework." Aleksandr asked his brother as he entered their bedroom.

"Don't go through my messages or pictures." Kylan said, passing his cellphone to Aleksandr. "Passcode's Ten-sixteen."

"Thanks." Aleksandr muttered, plugging his headphones in and going to Kylan's music library, selecting a random song from some singer/songwriter he'd never heard of, and starting his geometry homework.

_"Set your eyes, love. Set your eyes oh, west against the morning._ _Cause I have no warning of this. When they come to wake me up. Set your sights love. Set your sights oh, far across the ocean. Cause if I never touch the ocean._ _I would only come back home to sleep."_ The soft voice and meaningful lyrics filled Aleksandr's ears as he wrote out the equation he needed.

"Noah Gundersen. Nice choice." Kylan commented loudly, flopping down on Aleksandr's bed next to him.

"I like it." Aleksandr said, taking one earbud out so he could talk to his brother. "How're things with Allison?"

"Good. She's cool. So... heard you're goin' on a date with Case." Kylan said, awkwardly. "You excited?"

"Sort of; he's a great guy and he's handsome. I'm just... what if it doesn't work out?" Aleksandr asked, still working out his equation as he talked to Kylan.

"Not everyone stays with the first person they date; Mom just got lucky." Kylan informed his little brother. "Besides, one date ain't gonna change shit."

"Ky's right." Marley said, walking into the bedroom and sitting on Aleksandr's bed with her brothers. "And you never know, you may have some epic fuckin' love story with Case."

"We havin' a party in here?" Mayla asked, leaning against the walls with her arms crossed. "What's up?"

"Alek's got a date comin' up." Marley informed her sister with a smirk. "With Case."

"Oh, he's cute!" Mayla gushed, taking a seat on Kylan's bed. "What're you guys doin'?"

"Going to the Bears game." Aleksandr said, setting his homework aside. "Why are you all so interested?"

"'Cause I haven't been on a first date in months." Kylan said.

"My love life sucks ass." Marley fallowed.

"Datin' as an adult isn't as exciting." Mayla laughed, watching Marley lay down, draping herself across both of her brothers' laps.

"All three of you suck." Aleksandr groaned with a blush creeping onto his cheeks, earning hysterical laughter from his siblings.

 

"They're all together and no one is screamin', yet." Ian whispered against Mickey's neck as his hands roamed his husband's pale torso. Mayla had told them she was staying with Marley, tonight, and all of their children were headed to their rooms for the night when he whisked Mickey off into their own bedroom. "Think one of 'em might be dead by morning."

"Please stop talkin' about our kids when you're dick's pokin' my leg." Mickey ordered, making quick work of removing Ian's jeans, both of their shirts long since discarded. "Hurry the fuck up and get on me, firecrotch." Ian was all too willing to comply.

 

"Mom and Dad are bein' quiet, tonight." Marley whispered from her spot in Kylan and Aleksandr's floor beside Mayla.

"Thank God." Mayla laughed, quietly. "We all know how loud they can get."

"Sorta want what they have, though; they've been together forever and still want each other." Marley admitted, picking at a loose thread on her sleeping bag.

"You'll find it, someday; you're still young." Mayla assured Marley, rolling over in her own sleeping bag to face her sister. "Not everyone finds true love in high school."

"Kinda think Alek did." Marley said with a fond smile. "Gonna say I knew it all along in my toast at their wedding."

"Alek may kill you if you say that." Mayla joked. "But I think you're right; Case is good for Alek."

"Yeah." Marley yawned. "Night, May."

"Night, Lee." Mayla whispered, closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep, surrounded by the sounds of her younger siblings' breathing.

 

"What's up?" Ian whispered as he stepped into the open doorway of Kylan and Aleksandr's bedroom beside Mickey, who was staring in awe at their daughters asleep on their sons' bedroom floor.

"Think Lee needed this." Mickey whispered, wrapping his arms around Ian's waist. "She needed a night with her brothers and sister; to just be a kid, again."

"Miss them bein' little." Ian replied, softly, looking at his four babies, all sleeping soundly in the same room. "But they grew up pretty good."

"Fuckin' right, they did; we did fuckin' awesome raisin' 'em." Mickey whispered, resting his head on the handsome redheaded man's chest as they watched their children sleep. Marley still had a long way to go, but this proved that all four of them were their for each other, even if just to sleep in the same room as a form of comfort. Ian and Mickey were damn proud of how well their kids supported each other, and how much they loved one another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted some sibling bonding in this chapter. Leave me some comments and let me know if you liked seeing all four of them, together. Much love!


	24. It's Easier Than Telling The Truth

Marley wasn't sure what drove her to look into Mickey's father, but she was curious. She'd heard her parents talk about "Terry" more than once, and knew Mickey's maiden name was "Milkovich" so she ended up typing "Terry Milkovich" into google. Articles about fag-bashing, armed robberies, drug dealing, aggravated assault, and-finally-about his death popped up. Marley wasn't aware Mickey's father was dead, and now she was reading an article about him being shot by an unidentified sixteen year-old, trying to protect one of Terry's children, who was pregnant with their child and being brutally beaten half to death. She felt a dizzying nausea churning in her stomach; the year the article was published, the story, and the fact that she had no cousins on Mickey's side of the family other than Arden meant her own father had killed Terry Milkovich.

"Hey, Lee, dinner's ready." Ian said softly, knocking lightly on Marley's open bedroom door. "You okay, baby girl?"

"You killed someone." Marley mumbled, looking back down at her computer screen.

"What're you talkin' about, Lee?" Ian asked, heart rate accelerating. He had never wanted his children to find out about Terry.

"You killed Mom's dad." Marley said, closing her laptop and looking up at Ian with wide eyes. "You fuckin' killed someone, Dad."

"Marley... Marley, baby, listen, I did that 'cause he almost killed your Mom and Mayla." Ian pleaded, feeling his control in his emotions slipping away. "My mom told Terry he was pregnant and he was coming to kill your Mom, Mayla, and I. Your mom wanted to confront him and wouldn't let anyone stop him, so I went and got the gun in case I'd need it to save your Mom and your sister. And I did; your Mom almost fuckin' died and shit was touch-and-go for about three months with Mayla."

"You never told us. Why?" Marley asked, crushed that her parents had lied to her-to all of them-for years.

"'Cause your Mom and I didn't want you guys to know what he did. Or that Mayla almost didn't make it." Ian wiped his eyes and sniffed. His eldest daughter was fine; she was twenty-two years old, working as an art teacher, and had come home for dinner with her family, tonight. His baby girl didn't die that night, but he was still scared shitless any time he thought of when they almost didn't get their beautiful girl.

"Dad..." Marley didn't know what to say; what could she say when her father was forced to murder someone just to protect his family?

"Come downstairs; May's here for dinner and wants to see her little sister." Ian said, sadly before walking away.

 

"She's not gonna be afraid of you just 'cause she knows, Ian." Mickey said, rubbing his husband's back as he laid curled up on his side, facing away from Mickey.

"She knows I fuckin' killed someone, Mick; my baby knows I killed someone!" Ian sobbed, pulling his knees up to his chest.

"She also knows you did it 'cause the sick motherfucker was gonna kill me and Mayla." Mickey reassured the taller man. "Ian, I know you still feel guilty about it, but if you hadn't I wouldn't be here, Mayla wouldn't be here, Kylan wouldn't be here, Marley wouldn't be here, and neither would Alek; you did what you had to, and you have no fuckin' reason to feel bad about it. You got me?"

"He was your dad, Mickey." Ian managed to get out through his sobs. "I killed your dad."

"You killed the man who fuckin' abused my mom, my brother, my sister, and me our whole fuckin' lives. Terry wasn't shit to me but a fuckin' sperm donor. You wanna know what a Dad is? You; you love our kids, look out for them, hold their hands when they're scared, and you never once hurt them. That's a Dad, Ian." Ian rolled over, draping an arm over Mickey's legs. "Marley loves you, this is just... it's a lot to take in with all the other shit she's got goin' on. But never-not even for a fuckin' second-doubt that any of them love your gangly, freckled ass."

Mayla, Kylan, and Aleksandr stood in the hallway, listening to Mickey comfort Ian-who had been oddly quiet all through dinner-feeling heart-wrenching sadness. Not for the dead man, but for their father; he had done nothing wrong, yet he felt so much guilt they were sure it could crush the redheaded man. "You know about this?" Kylan asked Mayla in a sad whisper.

"No; just thought Mom wanted nothing to do with his Dad." Mayla replied, placing her hand on the doorknob.

"What're you doin'?" Kylan asked, not sure what his sister was about to say to their father.

"Dad needs us. Open the door, May." Aleksandr said with the same determination they'd seen their whole lives in their parents. Mayla opened the door and the three of them made their way into the room, crawling into the bed with Mickey and Ian. Ian would always feel guilty for what he did, but he knew his children didn't hold the fact that he had taken their grandfather's life against him. As they laid in bed with their parents, all clinging to Ian like a safety net, he knew he had done the right thing; he wouldn't have the man at his side or their children-now including Marley, who quietly made her way in and curled up with her siblings and parents-in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just really needed their kids to know the truth about Terry. Leave me some comments and let me know if you liked it. Much love!


	25. Meet The Family

                Thirteen Years Ago

To say Carl was nervous would be an understatement. He was introducing his family to his new girlfriend-Dominique-tonight at dinner. While he loved his family, he knew they could come on a little strong, and he didn't want the smart, pretty girl scared away by his father or any of his siblings. The one thing he was sure of, however, was that Dominique would love his nieces and nephews; it was impossible not to love them. "Hey!" Dominique yelled, jumping out of her Dad's car outside Ian and Mickey's house as Carl smoked a cigarette.

"Hey." Carl replied, pecking her cheek as she ran up to him. "Sir." Carl said, nodding slightly in her father's direction.

"Who's house is this?" Her father asked, looking at the cute suburban house in front of him.

"My older brother and his husband's, sir; they have four kids under ten, so nothin' crazy ever happens." Carl assured. "My oldest niece is only nine."

"What're their names?" This wasn't interrogation; this was a man with children of his own, curious about another family.

"Mayla Katelyn is nine, Kylan Loxley is three, and Marley Jayden and Aleksandr Mason are one." Carl replied with a sweet smile. He loved his brother and brother-in-law's four children.

"Nice names." Dominique's father complimented as he stepped out of the car, pulling Carl to the side; he didn't want to, but he liked the boy. "She hates kids." He told Carl lowly. "You seem like you love your brother's kids."

"Ian's kids are family; of course I love them." He was a little crushed; he had hoped his girlfriend would love them as much as he does.

"She's not gonna love them." Dominique's father said, sadly. "Sorry, son."

 

"CarCar! CarCar!" Kylan screamed and laughed as he ran around the living room, streaming toilet paper on everyone as they sat around after dinner. "CarCar mommy!"

"Did he call you "mommy?"" Dominique asked, unsure of how to react to the small child running and screaming.

"Meant "mummy" like the monster." Ian said, having decided several hours ago he didn't like the girl who completely ignored Mayla any time she asked her a question. "Come on, Monster." Ian said, scooping his son up. "CarCar's not a monster, today."

"CarCar no monsser?" Kylan asked with wide eyes. "Dada monsser?"

"No, you're monster." Ian said, tickling the toddler's stomach. "My baby monster."

"I monsser, FiFi!" Kylan laughed, looking at his aunt Fiona.

"Yes you are. Does Mickey need help gettin' the twins to sleep?" Fiona asked, having seen her brother dart down the steps a moment ago.

"Just Lee, now; I got Alek down before I came down here." Ian said moving Kylan to his hip.

"Daddy?" Mayla asked, jumping off the recliner she'd been perched in with Debbie. "Can I read bubby his story, tonight? I got a new book from school."

"Sure, princess." Ian loved that his daughter was so excited to help with her brothers and sister. "Go get your book and I'll get bubby in his pajamas."

"Manman?" Kylan asked, meaning he wanted his Ironman pajamas.

"Sure, monster." Ian said, walking up the stairs with his kids.

"Is it always like this around here?" Dominique asked Carl.

"Yeah; Ky's a wild man, May's a sweetheart, Alek never cries and hates when anyone but Mick or Ian picks him up, and Lee loves attention." Carl answered with a smile. "Ky acts a lot like me and Mick."

"This place is fuckin' crazy." Dominique groaned in exhaustion.

"Get used to it; this is what a big family is like." Mandy snapped.

"She's right; if our son wasn't with Katia for tonight it'd be worse." Lip agreed.

"Ky liked you." Debbie pointed out, still pissed that Dominique hadn't been very kind to the children.

"How do you get that? He threw milk on me, took condoms out of my purse, and screamed for twenty minutes that I was bad." Dominique reminded Debbie.

"He was tryin' to get you to play with him." Carl said with a shrug. "He's just a little fuckin' crazy."

 

"She was a fuckin' bitch." Mickey moaned as Ian sucked on his neck after everyone had left. "Fuck, don't stop."

"I won't if you'd quit fuckin' talkin' about a woman when I'm tryin' to fuck you." Ian quipped. "Look, Carl's gonna wise up and dump her ass in no time, so don't think about her when my dick's hard. Please? 'Cause, I'm not gonna lie. You talkin' about a woman? Big turn off."

"Shut the fuck up; you could never be turn off by me." Mickey laughed. "Now fuckin' kiss me."

"Your wish is my command." Ian said with a smirk, moving to kiss Mickey fiercely.

"HAHAHAHA!" Ian and Mickey jumped apart as they heard Kylan laughing as he ran up and down the hallway.

"Guess I'm not gettin' laid tonight." Ian sighed, slipping his sweatpants on as Mickey slid his shirt on.

"Don't look like it. Sorry, baby." Mickey replied, pecking Ian on the lips as Aleksandr started to cry. "You get Alek and I'll get Ky?"

"Deal." Ian said, kissing Mickey's forehead as the exited their bedroom.

"Kylan Loxley Gallagher, I'm gonna bust your ass if you don't fuckin' stop!" Ian knew it was an empty threat-they never spanked their children-but he had to laugh at how quickly Kylan stopped. He loved his family, and-even if he wouldn't be fucking his husband tonight-he loved his crazy fucking kids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to give a glimpse of the problems in the relationship Carl had with Dominique (in this series, not on the show) and a little bit of how wild Kylan was as a child. Leave me some comments and I'll love you, forever. Much love!


	26. Hello, World

                   Present Day

"She's here!" Carl cheered as he entered the waiting room of the hospital. "Brynn Roux Gallagher is here." The man had tears in his eyes as Mickey, Ian, Mayla, Kylan, Marley, and Aleksandr moved to hug him. "I got a daughter."

"Congratulations, man." Ian said, hugging his younger brother, tightly.

"She looks just like Eva, man." Carl sighed, complete and unconditional love clear on his face as he hugged Mickey.

"Good; don't need anyone lookin' like your ugly ass." Mickey teased as Carl hugged his eldest niece, laughing and jumping away when Carl tried to punch him.

"She would've been beautiful either way, Uncle Carl." Mayla said, patting her uncle's arm.

"See? Why the fuck can't you be nice like you're kid?" Carl teased Mickey when Kylan hugged his favorite uncle.

"'Cause she's one of a fuckin' kind, man." Kylan said, jumping out of the way when Mickey tried to slap the back of his head.

"Carl?" Carl turned when he heard his ex-wife's voice. "Hi." She said with a sweet smile, hugging him in a friendly manner.

"Hey, Dom." The two had actually maintained somewhat of a friendship after their divorce, but Carl hadn't seen her in months. "What're you doin' here?" Carl asked, patting Dominique's back, softly.

"My surrogate is in labor." Dominique said with a smile. "Micheal is in her room, I just came out to call our families."

"Surrogate?" Carl asked, lamely.

"I never wanted kids before I met Micheal." Carl hated hearing that name; Dominique had cheated on him at the end of their marriage-though both of them were ready to be done with their marriage before that started-with Micheal, though the issue was more that Dominique had completely refused to have a child with him when they were married than her affair. "We started trying to have a baby, but we found out I couldn't." Carl felt a pang in his chest; he couldn't imagine what it would feel like to discover you couldn't have a child when you wanted one. "So, here we are."

"What are you havin'?" Carl asked.

"A little boy." She said with a smile. "Brycen Parker."

"Nice name." Carl complimented. "You better get back in there."

"Yeah. Nice seeing you Carl, maybe we can get the kids together, sometime." Dominique said with a smile.

"Sounds good." Carl agreed. Dominique started walking away, but stopped and turned back around.

"Hey Carl?" She called out, causing Carl to look over at her as he hugged both twins. "You weren't the love of my life, and I wasn't yours. But we both found them. Congratulations on the baby."

"You, too." Carl said, kissing each of the twins on their foreheads as Dominique disappeared up the hallway.

 

"Hard to believe my little brother has two kids." Ian said, dropping onto the bed he shared with his husband after meeting his beautiful niece-who did, indeed look just like Eva, but Ian assumed her eyes would be closer to the color of Carl's-and drove back to their house well after midnight.

"Harder to believe than the fact that we have four kids all over the age of ten?" Mickey said, moving to straddle his husband's waist.

"Mm... you, maybe." Ian said, licking his lips and looking up at his husband. "Look too fuckin' good to have been pregnant three times."

"Yeah? I look good for forty?" Mickey said with a smirk, watching as Ian raked his eyes over Mickey's body.

"Look good for anything, beautiful." Ian sighed before flipping them over, resting between Mickey's legs. "God, I love you."

"I love you, too." Mickey whispered, leaning up to kiss Ian. "Still can't believe our kids are almost all adults."

"Still our babies. They will be until we're so old we can't see or hear shit and can't tell who they are, anymore." Ian joked. "I'll still know you're hot, though."

"You fuckin' better or I'm divorcin' your ass." Mickey shot back, pulling Ian to lay fully on top of him. "Always gonna think you're fuckin' handsome." Mickey wrapped his arms around Ian's waist. "Always gonna love you."

"Always gonna love you, too." Ian whispered, kissing his husband. "Gonna hold me all night?"

"Got a fuckin' problem with that?" Mickey challenged, raising an expressive eyebrow.

"Nope." Ian said with a smile, snuggling into Mickey's chest. "Night, baby."

"Night." Mickey tightened his arms around Ian as they drifted off to sleep.

 

"Hey." Dominique whispered, carrying her newborn son into the room Carl and Eva were in with baby Brynn. "Just wanted Brycen to meet his new friend."

"Bring him over." Eva said with a smile, adjusting Brynn in her arms. "This is Brynn."

"She's beautiful." Dominique complimented, moving Brycen enough for Eva and Carl to see the little boy.

"Oh my goodness! He's precious!" Evs gushed. "Look at that little face, Carl!"

"He really is cute, Dom." Carl complimented his ex-wife.

"Thanks... look, I know we didn't work as a couple, but you were always a good friend. I don't wanna lose that." Dominique said, readjusting her son.

"Me either. And you were right; I got the love of my life, now." Carl leaned over, kissing Eva's cheek and then Brynn's forehead.

"Congratulations. Hope we can get Brynn and Brycen together, soon." Dominique said before leaving the room.

"You okay with me and Dom bein' friends?" Carl asked, hoping his fiancée would be.

"Honey, she was in your life for a long time before I was; I'm fine with it. And Brynn's already got a friend." Carl fucking loved this woman; she was so sweet and understanding. He had once loved Dominique, but she was right; he was always supposed to be with Eva, and he couldn't wait to marry her.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me some comments and I'll love you forever, beauties! Much love!


	27. Build Your Hopes Up Like A Tower

"Do you think you're ready to talk about your issues with your brother, today, Marley?" Doctor Carr asked Marley once she'd sat down for her session.

"I don't have any issues with my brother." Marley argued, feeling tense at the mere mention of the horrible things she'd said about Aleksandr when she was at her worst.

"The way you talk about Aleksandr it seems like you feel inferior to him." Doctor Carr said, plainly. "Has he ever given you a reason to feel that way?"

"No; Alek's never been one to look for attention. He just happens to get it because he's fuckin' brilliant." Marley said. "Alek's the smart one, Ky's the musically gifted, funny one, and May's the sweetheart artist."

"And what are you, Marley?" Doctor Carr asked, leaning forward in her chair. "Where do you see yourself in your family dynamic?"

"I'm the theater kid; I thrive on attention." Marley said, sounding rather clinical. "Been that way my whole life."

"And what do you think your parents see you as?" Marley was getting annoyed with these questions pretty quickly.

"I'm their little diva; they see me as the one who wants to leave Chicago and achieve bigger, better things than stayin' here." Marley said, looking Doctor Carr straight in the eye. "I have a good family; I didn't see that for awhile, but I do, now. My parents support me, my siblings support me, and I support all of them. So fuck "where do I feel I fit in" or whatever other bullshit, 'cause I know I'm loved and that they all have my fuckin' back."

 

"Fuck you!" Kylan screamed as he played Mario Kart with Ian on the couch. "Fuckin' cheater!"

"Don't gotta cheat; I got skill." Ian goaded with a smirk.

"Skill my ass." Kylan grumbled. "You fuckin' asshole!"

"Ky, stop screamin' at your dad." Mickey ordered as he walked through the house. "Ian, quit cheatin' at fuckin' video games; they're smart enough to catch your ass, now."

"I never cheat!" Ian gasped. "Oh you little fucker!" Ian exclaimed, trying to tear the controller from Kylan's hand. "I fucked your mom." Ian said when he gave up, trying to distract Kylan.

"I've been deeper inside him than you could dream of, old man." Kylan scoffed. Mickey burst out laughing, startling Phantom, who had been asleep on the kitchen floor.

"Can't even get mad; that was just an awesome fuckin' burn." Ian admitted. "Hey, Princess, hey Diva." Ian said without looking away from the screen.

"How does he do that?" Marley asked her sister as they walked into the kitchen.

"Says he knows the sounds of our footfall or some shit!" Kylan yelled. "Yes! I win!"

"They been shit talkin' each other, yet?" Mayla asked Mickey.

"Yeah. Ky won that, too." Mickey laughed.

"I can guarantee you-" Mickey cut Ian off.

"Finish that fuckin' sentence and you'll be sleepin' down here for a fuckin' week." Mickey threatened. "How was therapy, Lee?"

"Good... Doctor Carr saw a little of that "Gallagher/Milkovich protective side" Uncle Lip's always talkin' about." Marley replied simply.

"Care to explain?" Ian asked, pecking Mayla, Marley, and Mickey all on the cheek when he walked into the kitchen.

"Felt like she was attackin' you guys so I told her I don't care about her "where do I feel I fit in" bullshit 'cause my family loves me." Marley said softly. "I was fucked up when I said you didn't-and I'm sorry for that-but I'm doin' better."

"I'm glad, baby." Mickey said, squeezing her hand that sat on the countertop.

"Yeah, it's good to see you feelin' more like yourself." Ian agreed, brushing a strand of her long black hair away from her face.

"Sorry I'm late; Arden can't figure out probability to save his life." Aleksandr said as he entered the house, throwing his backpack on the floor.

"Arden give you that massive fuckin' hickey?" Kylan asked, earning a slap to the back of his head from Aleksandr, who was blushing and covering his neck at this point. They were crazy as fuck and a little unconventional, but this was Marley's family and she loved them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I read the Mario Kart shit talk on Whisper and could totally picture Ian and Kylan having that moment. Leave me some comments, beauties! Much love!


	28. Holding Back

Mickey wasn't proud of many things about himself, but he could say for certain that he was a pretty damn good parent to his four beautiful children. That was why-when Kylan started acting off-Mickey was worried about his eldest son. "Hey, monster." Mickey said, sitting on the couch next to Kylan as the boy played his guitar. "Lee's spendin' the the night with May and Alek's stayin' at Uncle Lip and Aunt Mandy's, so it's just you, me, and Dad, tonight."

"I can go to Uncle Lip's, too; give you and Dad a night alone." Kylan said, still strumming his guitar. "Not like you've had a chance to do that... ever."

"We wanna spend some time with you; believe it or not we like your annoying little ass." Mickey teased. "You gonna tell me what's goin' on?"

"Nothin' to tell." Kylan said stiffly, never once looking away from his guitar.

"You remember when you were six and you broke the the back window? You said you didn't know what happened, but Dad and me knew you did it 'cause we could tell when you were lyin'. You're older, but I can still tell when you're lyin' to me, Ky." Mickey informed his son, taking the boy's guitar and setting it aside. "You're stubborn, but so am I, so we're gonna sit here until you tell me whatever the fuck is goin' on with you."

"How would I know if I was Bipolar?" Kylan asked, finally meeting Mickey's eyes. "Monica was, so how would I know if I was?"

"Are you sleepin'?" Mickey asked, trying to remember everything Ian or his siblings had once told him about the different signs that Monica was manic.

"Not really, no." Kylan admitted, quietly.

"Gettin' crazy ideas for businesses or somethin'?" Mickey asked, feeling cold fear settling in his stomach.

"Been writin' songs. A lot of 'em, and I just... I'm constantly over fuckin' hyped up, or pissed or... Or I just feel like the world is fallin' down around me." Kylan's eyes-Ian's eyes-were wide and it was obvious the boy was scared shitless. "What do I do?"

"We get you into a doctor and take it from there. It might just stress." Mickey said, pulling Kylan to his side and letting his son lay his head on his shoulder. "No matter what, you got us, okay?"

"I don't wanna hurt people." Kylan sniffed, clinging to Mickey like a lifeline.

"What're you talkin' about, baby boy?" Mickey asked as softly as he could, running his fingers through Kylan's copper locks.

"She hurt everyone... I don't wanna fuck things up like Monica." Kylan sobbed into Mickey's shoulder as the front door closed and Ian walked over to the couch sitting on the other side of Kylan. No one said a word after that; Mickey and Ian simply exchanged a sad, knowing look and rubbed their son's back as he cried on Mickey's shoulder.

 

"Haven't had to carry him to bed in years; kid's a lot fuckin' heavier than he was when he was eight." Mickey said as he walked back down the stairs to the living room where Ian sat, staring down at his hands. "Baby?"

"I did this to him." Ian stated, sadly.

"We don't know if he's Bipolar, yet, Ian. He's been worried about Lee and Alek for months; he could just be stressed out." Mickey reminded Ian, though he, himself, was terrified their son might actually be Bipolar like his grandmother.

"Mick, we can't fuckin' pretend it's not a possibility." Ian sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

"I know it's a possibility, but it ain't the only fuckin' one." Mickey replied, still holding on to a bit of hope that Kylan wouldn't have to go through life uncertain of whether or not he'd be bouncing off the walls or too depressed to get out of bed.

"I hurt our son just by bein' his father, Mickey." Ian said, finally looking up at Mickey. "If anyone else was his father-"

"He'd have something else goin' on." Mickey said, cutting Ian off. "No one is fuckin' perfect, Ian, and yeah, he might be Bipolar, but are you gonna love him any fuckin' less if he is?"

"Of course not; he's still my son." Ian said without a hint of doubt.

"Exactly. We'll get him into a doctor, and if he is Bipolar, we get him on Medication and we fuckin' fight with him, 'cause he's still our baby." Mickey told Ian, a steely determination in his vibrant blue eyes. "He's not doin' this alone."

"What if he doesn't wanna stay on the meds?" Ian asked, fear for his son evident in his eyes.

"Then we remind him what he said, tonight, and if he still don't wanna do it for awhile, we stick by him." Mickey said, firmly. "He's got sisters, a brother, aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, and parents who love him and ain't leavin' him for shit."

"Why'd it have to be one of my kids, Mick? Why couldn't it be me?" Ian asked, tears in his eyes as he spoke.

"I can't tell you that, baby." Mickey said sadly. "I wish I could, but I can't."

"Can we just go to bed? I'll start lookin' for a psychiatrist for Ky in the mornin'." Ian said, wiping tears from his eyes.

"Yeah. Come on." Mickey said, taking Ian's hand and leading him up to their bedroom. He knew they were all scared-Kylan included-for the boy who had cried himself to sleep, but he would still hold onto the small sliver of hope he had that Kylan would be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me some comments to let me know what you think of this chapter. Much love!


	29. Ruined

_"Monica Jean Gallagher_

_Mother, Wife, and Grandmother_

_September 21st 1968-December 17th 2016"_

The words on the tombstone taunted Ian as he stood in front of Monica's grave in early November after the Gallagher family finally got Kylan's diagnosis, proving the boy was-in fact-Bipolar. "Mickey and I had two more kids-fraternal twins-about a year after you died; Marley's our youngest daughter and Aleksandr's our youngest son. Mayla's twenty-two, now, got an Art degree, and she's a tattoo artist. Kylan's sixteen... he's a good kid; looks after his brother and sisters, plays guitar, writes music, and gets good grades. He acts a lot like Mick, even though he looks just like me.

"Marley's our little Diva; she loves bein' the center of attention and wants to move to New York and work on Broadway. Her and Alek are fourteen, and couldn't be more different; Alek looks so much like Mick it freaks me the fuck out, sometimes, but he's a fuckin' genius-skipped a grade in school and everything-and is real soft spoken and gentle." Ian wiped his eyes and sniffed. "We just found out that Kylan's Bipolar; kid's scared shitless that he'll end up hurtin' everyone like you did.

"This isn't fuckin' fair! You shouldn't get to ruin my fuckin' son's life! Your fucked up genes are hurtin' my fuckin' baby!" Ian screamed at the woman's grave, his eyes burning with unshed tears. "Kylan deserves better than what you fuckin' cursed him with."

"Thought I'd find you here." Mickey said, pulling his jacket tighter around himself. "Alek and Lee said you left and didn't say where you were goin'."

"Can't exactly yell at her any other way." Ian sniffed, turning his head to look at his husband as he stepped closer to the grave. "She's the reason Ky's gonna have to be on medication the rest of his fuckin' life just to feel like himself, again." 

"Ky's gonna be fine, Ian; he's a tough kid." Mickey tried to reassure Ian, looking down at Monica's grave. "Be pissed at her for bein' a horrible fuckin' mother, for bein' a bitch and abandonin' you guys... for almost killin' Mayla. But not for somethin' she couldn't control."

"I just hate that he's the one stuck with this shit." Ian sighed, looking back ay his mother's grave with a scowl. "No fuckin' idea why someone put "Grandmother" on here; never fuckin' earned that title."

"Don't worry about her, anymore, okay? Let's get home." Mickey said, rubbing Ian's cold arm. "Why the hell did you walk here?"

"Needed to clear my head." Ian said, suddenly noticing the bitterly cold air around himself. He pulled his thin jacket tighter around him as he fallowed Mickey back to Mickey's car without saying another word.

 

"Dad, you're freezing!" Marley gasped after hugging Ian when he walked into the house. "I made some soup before Ky went to bed. You want some tea?" Marley said, rushing to the kitchen.

"I'm okay, baby girl." Ian said as he fell onto the couch, closing his eyes. "Go to bed, sweetie; you got school in the mornin'."

"Okay." Marley said, making her way over to the couch to kiss Ian's cheek. "Love you, Dad," Marley hugged Mickey tightly as she moved towards the stairs. "love you, Mom."

"He's gonna be okay, baby." Mickey told Ian, yet again. "Gonna need us to have our fuckin' heads in the right place, though."

"Just... feel guilty that he's goin' through this shit 'cause Monica gave birth to me." Ian sighed, his eyes still closed. "I hate that I did this to him."

"You didn't do anything, Dad." Kylan said as he quietly made his way downstairs.

"Thought you went to bed?" Ian asked, opening his eyes as he turned to look at Kylan.

"Alek's fuckin' snorin' 'cause he's got that damn cold and it woke me up." Kylan said, sitting down next to Ian. "I was comin' down here to sleep and heard you guys talkin'... It's not your fault I'm Bipolar, Dad; shit happens."

"Gonna feel like it is for awhile, monster." Ian told his look-a-like.

"I don't blame you, so don't blame yourself." Kylan said, looking towards Mickey. "Goes for both of you."

"We're your parents, Ky; we're always gonna hate that you got stuck with somethin' like this." Mickey informed their son, moving behind the couch to run his fingers through the boy's hair. "But we got your back."

"I know. Now leave the fuckin' living room so I can sleep." Kylan yawned, stretching his lanky body out over the couch.

"Yeah, okay. Night, kid." Ian laughed, throwing Kylan's long legs off his lap as he stood up, leaning over to kiss his son's forehead. "Love you, monster."

"Love you, Dad. Love you, Mom." Kylan muttered, green eyes already closed.

"Love you, too, baby boy." Mickey whispered, draping the throw from the back of the couch over Kylan before leading Ian upstairs for the night. Mickey hated this as much as Ian did, but Kylan needed them to be strong, so Mickey would put on a brave face for his baby's sake.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me some comments to let me know what you thought about this chapter. Much love!


	30. Oh Darling

Mayla Gallagher was protective of her three younger siblings, so when Kylan was diagnosed as Bipolar, she was determined to be there for her little brother as much as possible. "Hey, Mama. Is Ky home?" Mayla asked as she walked into the house, dropping a kiss on Mickey's cheek as she took her jacket off.

"He's sleepin'; Meds wear the kid out." Mickey sighed, taking his glasses off and rubbing his tired blue eyes. "Thought you were workin' today?"

"Only had a few appointments and Lana does walk-ins. I wanted to come see Ky once I was done." Mayla said with a shrug. "Daddy was my first appointment today; his tattoo turned out beautiful."

"Had a good canvas to work on." Mickey said, scooting over so his daughter could sit down with him.

"We get it, Mama, you still think Daddy's beautiful." Mayla giggled, sitting on the couch with Mickey. "The tattoo looks perfect." Mayla passed Mickey her phone, a picture of Ian's newest tattoo-"I always loved you, and I always will." in Mickey's own handwriting on his left shoulder blade-on the screen. "I was kinda worried I would mess up your writin' style once we had the stencil on."

"It's beautiful, sweet girl." Mickey said, passing Mayla her phone. "How're you and Lana doin'?"

"It's goin' good, but I'm not rushin' anything." Mayla said with a shrug. "First serious girlfriend and everything."

"Think this might be it for you?" Mickey asked. "'Cause your Dad said she's cute and funny as hell."

"She is." Mayla said with a soft smile. "I don't know, I mean, we're both pretty young."

"You should invite her over for Thanksgiving." Kylan yawned, walking down the stairs with Phantom in his arms.

"You bringin' Alison?" Mayla asked, moving closer to Mickey so Kylan could sit down.

"Nah... She dumped my ass after I got the diagnosis." Kylan didn't sound as sad as Mayla would have expected, but she knew the Medications were screwing with Kylan's emotions, right now. "Besides, I'm not lookin' to settle down as young as Mom and Dad did."

 "Good; I'm too fuckin' young to be a grandparent." Mickey said, glaring at both of his eldest children.

"Tell Alek that; things are heatin' up pretty fast with him and Case." Kylan said, looking down at the sleeping cat in his lap.

"Put the kid on birth control and your Dad got him fuckin' condoms." Mickey said with a shutter. "Never talkin' about your brother's sex life, again." Mayla and Kylan nodded in agreement, not wanting to think of their baby brother having sex.

 

"You two are assholes!" Ian yelled as the twins ran in past him. "Never pickin' them up from Lip's, again; they didn't shut the fuck up. I swear, I was havin' flashbacks to when they were six." Ian threw himself down in his husband's lap, resting his head on Mickey's shoulder. "Remember when you said those two were the last kids we'd ever have?"

"Yeah?" Mickey asked in a soft laugh watching Mayla, Kylan, Marley, and Aleksandr all roll their eyes.

"Thank you for that." Ian mumbled.

"We're fuckin' delightful!" Marley chastised her father, taking some popcorn from Kylan and throwing it at Ian. "What's with the ring, Alek?" Marley asked around a mouthful of popcorn.

"Case's sister, Marina's big into church and talked us into a "chastity vow" and got us the rings." Aleksandr shyly said, twisting the gold ring on his left ring finger. 

"Stick with it, kid; don't need to risk a baby right now." Ian said, snuggling closer to Mickey.

"You forgettin' we had a baby when we were teenagers?" Mickey laughed, wrapping an arm around Ian's waist.

"Not ready to be a grandpa; I'm not even forty, yet." Ian yawned. "Besides, I think it's a good stand to take-not that I'm who you should ask about it-but it proves it's not all based on sex."

"Dad's right, kid; wish I waited." Kylan said, eyes fixed on the TV screen in front of him.

"Same." Mayla echoed, stealing some of Kylan's popcorn.

"Yeah." Marley said, looking down at the hot pink socks on her feet. The family became eerily silent, the only sound coming from whatever shitty movie Kylan had decided on and shuffling as Aleksandr moved closer to his twin on the floor.

 

"Think the chastity thing's gonna stick?" Ian asked Mickey as they seamlessly moved around each other the clean the kitchen as all four of their children slept in the living room.

"Hell no." Mickey scoffed. "He's a teenage boy; he's eventually gonna have sex. Just glad he ain't doin' it right now."

"Yeah... God, he's still a fuckin' baby and he's got a fuckin' boyfriend." Ian groaned, leaning back against the counter. "Feels fuckin' weird... I don't remember it feelin' this weird when the other three started dating."

"It's 'cause he looks like me; I felt the same way when Ky started datin'." Mickey said, leaning over to load the dishwasher. "It's weird 'cause the kid who looks the most like the person you love is datin', now, and you wanna protect them from anything that could hurt 'em."

"Sounds about right; wanna protect him from the fuckin' world and he don't need me to, anymore." Ian said, sadly, looking down at the chipped coffee mug in his hand. "Our kids are all grown up now, Mick; they don't need us, anymore."

"They still need us, baby, just not as much as they did when they were little." Mickey said, standing to full height and moving in front of Ian. "They're always gonna need us, baby."

"Just miss 'em needin' me for everything, you know?" Ian sighed, placing the mug in the dishwasher. "Miss 'em crawlin' into bed with us whenever they got scared, or wantin' to spend every fuckin' minute with us."

"Can't stay little forever, baby." Mickey said, gently rubbing Ian's side. "We did our job, and now they're provin' we did it right... We were two fucked up Southside kids, and we raised four amazing people." Ian nodded, pulling Mickey into a tight hug. It would always hurt that their children no longer needed them as much as they once did, but they would always be Ian's babies; he would always be right there whenever one of his babies needed him, and he knew Mickey would, as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I needed some family bonding time. Leave me some comments to let me know what you thought. Much love!


	31. Whispers

_"My boyfriend and I were teenagers (only sixteen and seventeen) when we found out I was pregnant. I had previously had a miscarriage and it almost broke me, so I knew I was keeping my baby. What I didn't expect, however, was for him to be excited, or for us to be happily married 24 years (as of tomorrow) later and still disgustingly in love. I will never get over how lucky I am to have that gorgeous man."_

Mickey closed the Whisper App after posting this, afraid Ian would catch him gushing about him online. "Ian and the kids not home, yet?" Mandy asked, flopping down on the couch next to her brother.

"Nah; Alek's got Debate team practice and Ky and Lee are both at therapy, so Ian's there with 'em. What's up?" Mickey asked, seeing that something was bothering her.

"Any of your kids ever call you and Ian "Mickey and Ian" instead of "Mom and Dad?"" Mandy asked, looking down at her feet.

"Fuck no. May still calls us "Mama and Daddy", Ky usually calls me "Ma" and always calls Ian "Dad", Lee calls us "Mom and Dad", and Alek calls us "Mom and Dad" unless he's sick or scared; then he calls us "Mama and Daddy." Why?" Mickey couldn't imagine one of his babies calling him "Mickey"; he was pretty fucking sure it'd break his heart.

"Arden calls us "Mandy and Lip", now; thought it was just a normal teenage thing. I mean, we never called Terry "Dad" and the Gallaghers all called their parents "Frank and Monica" until they started callin' Frank "Dad" after May was born." Mandy replied with a shrug. "But of-fucking-course your kids don't call you "Mickey"; you got four perfect kids."

"They're not perfect." Mickey tried to argue, but he had to admit his children were pretty close to being perfect. "Want me to talk to the kid?"

 "Not sure it'd even fuckin' help at this point." Mandy sighed, dropping her head onto Mickey's shoulder. "He used to love us."

"Still does. He's just bein' difficult." Mickey tried to comfort his sister, knowing how hard it was on Ian and himself when Marley seemed to hate them. Mandy nodded, smirking down at the picture of Ian, Kylan, Akeksandr, Marley, and Mayla sitting on the living room floor on Christmas morning a few years earlier; her brother's family was truly beautiful, and loved each other unconditionally.

 

_"When I was five my mother left my family and I ran off to the park to cry away from my siblings and father. I met a little boy that day, who comforted me and became my best friend. 35 years later, we've been married for almost 24 years and have four amazing children. I'm still so in love with him it's a little disgusting."_

Ian slid his phone into his pocket as Kylan walked back into the waiting room and collapsed next to his father. "Fuckin' hate therapy." Kylan groaned, closing his eyes. "It always gonns be this exhausting?"

"Probably, kiddo. Sorry, Ky." Ian said, scratching the boy's scalp gently. "You can go out to the car, if you want."

"Yeah. Need a fuckin' smoke." Kylan sighed, taking the offered keys from Ian and exiting the building.

"You let your child smoke?" A woman asked, glaring at Ian from her seat across from the redheaded man.

"I'd rather them be honest with me about it than sneak around." Ian replied shortly, trying to remain calm as the woman snarled. "So why should it matter what I allow  _my son_ to do?"

"You should be a better role model for your children." She snapped.

"Mister Gallagher is a wonderful father." Another woman defended. "His kids are delightful." She smiled at Ian, crinkles forming around her dark brown eyes. "How's Mickey doin'?"

"He's good. How's Martin?" Ian asked Helen-the woman at his side, whom he'd befriended during the time they'd spent waiting for their grandson and daughter, respectively-with a sweet smile.

"Still hates the damn medicine, but I plan on keepin' him around for a few more years." Helen replied, brushing silver hair away from her heavily wrinkled olive face. "Jace keeps askin' him how he'd feel leavin' me, behind; gets him to shut his mouth and take the pills." Ian liked Helen's grandson-who lived with his grandparents after losing his parents at the age of three-and had started to notice Marley flirting with the soft-spoken brunette boy.

"He's a sweet kid." Ian complimented genuinely.

"Think I'll keep him around. How's Kylan been? Poor kid looked beat." Helen said, placing a single frail hand on Ian's much larger one.

"He's okay; spends a lot of time with Mick, these days." Ian replied, wishing Mickey had gotten off work in time to take the kids to their appointment; Mickey was much better at comforting their children than he was. Helen was about to speak when the door opened and Marley walked out, wiping smudged mascara off her blotchy red face. "Hey." Ian said, standing up and allowing his daughter to hug him.

"Can we go home?" Marley asked in a hoarse voice.

"Yeah, baby girl. Let's go." Ian replied, patting her back before walking out with his daughter.

 

Mickey laid in the bed he shared with his husband, sandwiched between Marley and Kylan. "They doin' better?" Ian asked, quietly entering their bedroom as two of their children slept, curled up tightly around Mickey's torso.

"Think so. They fell asleep." Mickey replied, brushing Kylan's messy red hair away from his pale, freckled face. "Didn't tell me what the hell happened; just wanted to lay here."

"Poor babies." Ian sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed, stroking Marley's curly black locks. "Hate that I can't help my own damn kids."

"Need us for different things, baby." Mickey said, staring up at Ian and noticing-for the first time-the strands of silver starting to mix into his fiery copper curls. When the hell had they gotten old enough to start getting grey hair? "Startin' to get grey hair."

"Yeah, noticed it the other day. You think it looks bad?" Ian asked nervously. He didn't mind his grey hairs-thought he'd earned them-but he still wanted his husband to be attracted to him.

"Nah, it's fuckin' sexy." Mickey replied, leaning up enough to receive a soft, loving kiss from his husband.

"God you two are fuckin' gross!" Kylan groaned, slapping Marley to wake her up. "Let's get the fuck outta here before they start fuckin'." Marley nodded in agreement, fallowing her older brother out of the bedroom as Mickey and Ian laughed.

 

"What happened?" Aleksandr asked his siblings as they sat on the couch eating pizza.

"Talked about why I'm scared to date, again." Marley answered, taking a large bite of her own pizza. "I said I can't go through what I did last time, and that I couldn't put Mom and Dad through it, again. I mean, I know not every guy is like him, but I'm just not ready." Both boys nodded in understanding, knowing their sister was afraid of hurting her family, once more.

"What about you?" Aleksandr asked, turning to his older brother.

"Talked about how fucked up I've been since my diagnosis and how horrible I feel that Dad feels guilty about Monica havin' it." Kylan said quietly, looking down at the the pizza on the table. The three siblings became quiet, all looking down at their phones to avoid looking at one another.

_"Two of my siblings suffer from mental illnesses, and I feel worthless because I have no idea how to help them or what to say to let them know I have their backs."_

 

Mickey had basically passed out after Ian had fucked him into their mattress just an hour earlier. Their dark blue sheets hung low on his bare hips as he laid on his stomach, his face buried in the pillows. "Happy anniversary, Mickey. I love you." Ian whispered when he noticed it was midnight. Mickey mumbled into his pillow, still fast asleep as Ian kissed his shoulder softly. He couldn't believe he'd been married to this beautiful, amazing man for twenty-four years, but he wouldn't change it for the world.

"Happy 'versary." Mickey muttered, half awake as he draped an arm over Ian's torso. Ian chuckled softly, kissing Mickey's hair before picking up his phone and opening the Whisper App.

_"When I started dating the man I ended up marrying, I wasn't a virgin even though he was. 27 years later, I swear sex with him is so much better than it was with the people I was with before. I'm pretty sure it's because I'm so in love with him."_

Ian sat his phone down and curled up with his husband, ready to get some sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted some of the family to use the "Whisper" app to get a better look into how they feel. Leave me some comments and let me know what you think. Much love!


	32. Make Your Mark

"If I talked to Mom or Dad like that, they would murder me and bury my body in the yard next to Onyx." Aleksandr said as he and Arden laid on the floor in the bedroom Aleksandr shared with his brother.

"Mom's been actin' like I'm ten, these days; think it's 'cause they never had another kid." Arden sighed, taking a long, slow drag off the joint in his hand.

"If my parents catch you with that shit they'll kill both of us." Aleksandr groaned, moving closer to his own bed.

"They're not that protective." Arden scoffed as his cousin looked towards the door when they could hear Marley walking past singing some shitty pop song. "What's it like?"

"What?" Aleksandr asked, trying not to laugh when he hears Marley scream fallowed by his father laughing.

"Havin' a family like this; you guys are... Close." Arden struggled to find words as he listened to his Uncle and cousin laughing at each other from the hallway.

"It's nice, most days, but it can also be overwhelming at times." The younger boy replied honestly. "Mom and Dad have always been really honest with us, which is great, but having three older siblings can be hard when you look like your Mom."

"How's that?" Arden knew all of his cousins were a bit over protective of each other, but he had always envied that and couldn't quite wrap his head around how it could possibly be a bad thing.

"They all sort of think I should be treated like glass because seeing me hurting would be like seeing Mom hurting; Mom's always been strong, and they don't want to be reminded that even he has weaknesses." Aleksandr glanced at Arden-who was now staring at him as if he had two heads-with a weary smile. "There are times you should feel grateful that you're an only child."

"Always wanted a brother or sister when I was younger. Now I just want my parents to stop freakin' out constantly 'cause I'm growin' up." Arden admitted, jumping slightly when the door opened.

"Alek, your dad needs you, baby." Mickey said, making a point to call Aleksandr "baby" for some reason Arden couldn't determine.

"Okay. Just so you know, I have nothing to do with that." Aleksandr declared as he jumped to his feet, pointing towards Arden as he stubbed the joint out. Nothing was scarier than a pissed off Mickey Gallagher, and he didn't want that rage directed towards him.

"I know, baby." Mickey assured his youngest son. "Go help your Dad." Aleksandr nodded, instinctively leaning into Mickey as he kissed the boy's dark hair before he darted down the stairs. "You know they only freak out 'cause they love you."

"You and Uncle Ian don't freak the fuck out on your kids." Arden argued.

"You really gonna go with that shit? When you and Ky got suspended last year I spent forty-five minutes screamin' at his ass." Mickey retorted. "Don't give 'em a reason to worry about you and they won't."

"You guys talk to them like they're adults, not toddlers." Arden sighed, looking at the ceiling to avoid his Uncle's eyes. "Just... Annoys me, you know?"

"Kid, we treat Alek different than May, Ky, or Lee. You know why?" Arden shook his head. "He's our youngest; even if he's only five minutes younger than Lee, he's still the baby. When you have kids, you don't wanna think about your youngest growin' up... Since your Mom and Dad only have you, they don't wanna think you're gonna be an adult in three years." Mickey was making a lot of sense, but Arden was very much Lip Gallagher's son.

"Well, I am." Arden persisted. "Can't stop that."

"You know why I used to call your Dad "the asshole?" It was 'cause he said shit like you just did." Mickey deadpanned, his eyes seething when Arden finally looked at him. "You wanna be treated like an adult? Stop actin' like a kid who didn't get the fuckin' toy they wanted."

 

"Mandy called me. Alek's stayin' the night with Arden, Ky's stayin' at Carl's house all weekend, and when I got Lee to May's she asked if she could stay the night there; got the house to ourselves." Ian said, wrapping his arms around his husband's waist. "Got you all to myself, tonight."

"Sound pretty fuckin' excited about that, tough guy." Mickey practically purred, throwing his own arms around Ian's neck. "You gonna do somethin' about it?"

"Got a few ideas." Ian murmured, pressing his lips against the plush, pink ones in front of him. "Both wearin' too much clothes for most of 'em."

"Oh yeah?" Mickey breathed, moving to kiss a line up Ian's throat. "Come upstairs with me and we'll fix that."

"Fuck yes!" Ian exclaimed with a wide smile, throwing Mickey over his shoulder and rushing up the stairs with a laughing Mickey on his back.

 

"So Jace... Dad said he's a sweetheart." Mayla said, leaning back on her couch with a box of Chinese take out in one hand and chopsticks in the other.

"He's nice-fuckin' cute, too-but I'm not sure it'll go anywhere; he's a good guy, and I'm still a mess." Marley replied with a shrug, taking a bite out of the spring roll in her own left hand. "Reminds me of Case and Lana."

"You're in trouble, then, kiddo." Lana Reading-Mayla's lovely girlfriend-said as she entered the apartment, shrugging off her black canvas jacket, leaving her in a pretty, stylish olive green sweater dress, brown and white aztec printed leggings, and a pair of high heeled brown suede boots. Lana was a stunning woman; long, dreadlocked dark hair, a flawless dark complexion, hypnotic chocolate brown eyes, a delicate nose with a septum ring in it, bow shaped lips with a small stud in the bottom left corner, and a very small frame that made Mayla's 5'4" look very tall. The way she was dressed threw Marley off, however, because most days Lana looked like she was a flower child plucked straight out of the nineteen sixties.

"The hell are you wearin'?" Marley asked, looking Lana over. "Go put on a fuckin' sundress or something!"

"I had to go to my fuckin' sister's house and she thinks I should look "proper" or something." Lana groaned, dropping onto the couch between the sisters. "Had to borrow some of May's clothes... This is just a sweater on her giant ass."

"Honey, I'm not tall; you're just a tiny little thing." Mayla laughed. She was right; Lana wasn't even five feet tall, which just made her more adorable.

"4'11" is a perfectly acceptable height." Lana countered, crossing her arms over her chest. "I think I'm adorable."

"Yes you are, my dear." Mayla giggled, moving to kiss her girlfriend, her left hand resting on Lana's cheek. Seeing her sister this happy was all Marley had ever wanted for any of her of her siblings, but the hand on Lana's cheek reminded Marley she wanted go ask her sister something while she was here.

"Hey, May?" Marley called out, hoping Mayla would agree.

 

"Faster." Mickey moaned, clenching the sheets as his husband gripped his hips hard and fucked him even harder from behind. "Fuck yes!" Mickey screamed as Ian found the perfect angle to turn him into a boneless mess.

"Look so fuckin' good, baby." Ian panted, mesmerized by watching his cock move in and out of Mickey's hole. "Take me so good." Ian moved his arms enough to pull Mickey up until his back was pressed tight against Ian's heaving chest and wrapped his right hand around Mickey's cock, tugging and pumping in time with his thrusts. "Cum for me, baby." Ian groaned, knowing he wouldn't last much longer with the way Mickey was rocking back into his movements and clenching down on his dick.

"Ian!" Mickey cried out, spilling his release onto Ian's fist. He kept clenching and rocking against Ian until he felt his husband bite down on his shoulder and his hot cum filling him up.

"Fuck." Was all Ian said as he pulled out and kissed Mickey in a sloppy, uncoordinated, lazy dance of tongue and teeth more than lips. Mickey thought "fuck" summed it up pretty well.

 

The needle of the tattoo gun digging into her skin fucking hurt; Marley had no idea how her parents or sister made it seem painless, but Lana had sat down beside her and allowed her to squeeze her small hand as Mayla worked on the elegant, swirling font on Marley's right hip.

"Almost done." Mayla said, still regretting her decision to do this for her younger sister. "I could lose my license for this, you know?"

"Who's gonna tell?" Marley gritted out, tightening her grip on Lana's hand.

"Just be glad I had my old gun and just picked up my ink and needles." Mayla said, turning the gun off and cleaning the excess ink and blood off her sister's skin. "Check it out." Marley took the small hand mirror Lana offered and used it to examine the three words Mayla had inked into her hip; "Still I Rise." Marley loved it, and told Mayla as much by pulling her into a hug as soon as she'd cleaned up the space she'd worked in.

"Thank you." Marley whispered as she clung to Mayla.

"No problem, Diva." Marley replied, kissing her sister's dark curls. "Make sure to use the cream I gave you and keep it clean." Marley nodded, stepping back to hug Lana and whisper a goodnight to both women. "Mom is gonna kill me."

"No. He'll thank you for givin' her a reminder." Lana reassured Mayla quietly. "Let's go; kid wakes up at dawn." Lana joked, pulling her girlfriend to her bedroom for the night. Mayla may be unsure of why she agreed to tattoo her fourteen year-old sister, but she was fucking proud of how far Marley had come; she was broken down, but rose back up.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me some comments to let me know what you think. Much love!


	33. Smoke In My Lungs

"You know Alek thinks we'd kill his ass if we caught him smokin'." Mickey laughed as Ian passed him the joint they were sharing, both sitting naked in their bed. "Kid don't know if we weren't fuckin' high we might not be together, at all." The sweet smoke filling his lungs made Mickey's whole body relax in a way it hardly ever can with the constant fear something hurting one of his babies he'd harbored for as long as they'd been in existence looming over him.

"I try to forget that." Ian chuckled, snatching the joint back. "Got high and told you about the guys I fucked; not a particularly proud moment in my life." Ian pulled Mickey closer, breathing the smoke slowly into his husband's open mouth and placing a soft kiss on his full lips before pulling away. "Got your ass to kiss me, though."

"Rather them think we'd kill 'em; don't want the little assholes stealin' our stash." Ian laughed a harder and shoved his husband as he spoke. "Easy on me, bitch! I'm gettin' old."

"Bullshit." Ian said, moving to lay across Mickey's legs. "Holy shit, baby; we're in our forties. How the hell did that happen?"

"Our oldest kid is twenty-three; that's the part that fucks me up." Mickey sighed, slipping the joint between Ian's lips. "Our baby girl is all grown up."

"Still got three who aren't." Ian replied, watching the smoke curl in the air. "Did what Monica and Terry never could."

"Didn't use our kids as punchin' bags and babysitters?" Mickey guessed, blowing out his own cloud of smoke.

"Raised our own fuckin' kids and did it right." Ian proclaimed proudly. When his phone chimed, he reached for the device blindly.

_Little Diva(9:45AM): Morning, Daddy!_

_Dad(9:47AM): What'd you do?_

_Little Diva(9:48AM): What?_

_Dad(9:50AM): Only call me "Daddy" when you're in trouble or upset._

_Little Diva(9:52AM): Promise you won't be mad?_

_Dad(9:54AM): Even if I am it won't last too long._

_Little Diva(10:00AM): [Multimedia attachment] May did it, so it's clean and done right._

"May gave Lee a tattoo." Ian said, far too stoned to get mad.

"Fuck." Mickey said, looking at the picture Ian showed him. "Looks good, at least; my first one looked like shit."

"I like it." Ian said with a shrug, taking Mickey's free hand and kissing the knuckles.

"Liar. Wanna fuck with her head or let the kid breathe?" Mickey had always enjoyed screwing with people when he was high, so Ian expected this, but he knew Marley was probably freaking out.

"Go easy on her." Ian replied, watching his husband's thumbs dance across the keypad.

_Dad(10:05AM): Looks good, baby girl._

_Little Diva(10:06AM): Thanks, Mama._

_Dad(10:08AM): That easy to figure out?_

_Little Diva(10:10AM): Daddy always calls me "Diva" or Lee. Is he mad?_

_Dad(10:12AM): No, he's not mad, baby._

_Little Diva(10:15AM): Thank God! May's gonna being me home, later. Love you, Mama._

_Dad(10:18AM): Love you, too._

"May's gonna bring her home, later." Mickey informed his husband.

"Think Ky's comin' home later, too; said he didn't bring enough of his pills for the whole weekend." Ian said, remembering his son had talked to him, earlier. "Guess they'll all be home for dinner."

"Let the fuckin' chaos ensue." Mickey said, secretly loving that all four of his children would be home.

 

"Shut the hell up!" Marley yelled in a laugh, tossing a small chunk of bread at her older brother.

"No, I'm serious; it was fuckin' weird! I mean, this guy was like, staring at me like I was gonna fuckin' jump him!" Kylan laughed, taking a bite of his food.

"Maybe you shouldn't glare at strangers all the time." Mayla joked, dodging the piece of chicken her brother lobbed at her head.

"Next person to throw food is cleanin' the whole damn kitchen." Mickey warned, knowing his children well enough to know there would be ay least one more item of food thrown.

"Am I the only normal one?" Aleksandr joked, dodging more chicken being thrown by Kylan. "Mom!"

"Always say you miss 'em bein' kids." Mickey taunted his husband as Kylan tried to deny any guilt in the background.

"Not this part." Ian whispered, watching Marley and Mayla talk quietly to each other as their brothers argued. "Maybe those two."

"Lee always wanted to be just like May." Mickey mused, smiling at his daughters talking very animatedly. He loved how close his children were; they loved one another enough to even put Ian and his siblings to shame.

"Hey, Dad! Tell Ky that wasn't my fault!" Aleksandr demanded, pointing at Kylan in a very childish manner.

"Not gettin' into this shit, kid." Ian said, holding both hands up as his youngest son groaned. This was chaotic, loud, and involved a lot of food being tossed around, but Ian had missed all four of his children being home; he didn't get enough time for it when they were all young, considering Mayla was six years older than Kylan and eight years older than the twins. He wished now that they hadn't waited so long to have more children, but he was also glad they had spent time with just their eldest child.

"Hey Daddy?" Marley asked quietly enough only Ian could hear her.

"Yeah, Diva?" Ian replied, leaning closer to Marley with his hand resting on top of Mickey's on the table.

"Can I talk to you alone?" Ian nodded and left the dinning room to follow Marley up to the bedroom he shared with Mickey.

"Somethin' wrong?" Ian asked, watching her daughter twirl her long, black hair around her fingers.

"I... Look, I know you and Mom still... Enjoy sex, that May likes it, and Ky always said it was good, but... I had sex with Todd, and I hated it." Marley said, looking down at her small feet. "I had no interest in it, but I did it because I thought I had to. I've been talkin' to Jace, but I just... If it goes anywhere, I don't want... I think guys are attractive, and I like kissing, but not... You know."

"Lee, baby girl, have you ever looked into Asexuality?" Ian asked, taking a seat on the bed next to Marley.

"No." She admitted, not looking at her father.

"It could have just been bad sex, but there's also the possibility that you'll just never be interested in it. That doesn't mean you can't date or fall in love, it just means sex isn't something you're interested in." Ian said, knowing this was as much a "coming out" moment for Marley as when Aleksandr told the family he was gay.

"What if he doesn't like me 'cause I don't wanna have sex?" She asked nervously, looking back up at her father with sad green eyes.

"Then fuck him, he's not worth your time; if he can't love you as much as your family does, he's just a little prick." Ian was adamant as he said this. Marley had always been a Daddy's girl, so Ian wasn't surprised she'd want to talk to him first, but the fact that she didn't think someone would be interested in her because she was asexual? That pissed Ian off; his baby girl was fucking perfect!

"Thanks, Daddy." She sniffed, moving to hug her father.

"You guys okay up here?" Mickey asked from the doorway, looking slightly nervous as he saw the sad look on Marley's face.

"Yeah, Mama." Marley said, trying to smile at Mickey before explaining what she had just told her father. Mickey nodded along, listening intently as Marley spoke. "Do you think I'm weird?"

"No, baby girl; you can't help this anymore than Dad and I can help bein' gay." Ian had never been more fucking proud to be married to this man than he was at this moment; he was so supportive of their children and it was so fucking amazing to see the undying love he felt for them. "I love you, okay? It don't fuckin' matter who or what you are; you're always gonna be my kid."

"I love you, too, Mama." Marley rasped, hugging Mickey so tightly Ian thought his husband's back would crack at any moment. Ian felt horrible that Marley felt like being herself was strange or wrong, but he knew she felt better knowing Mickey and himself felt no differently towards her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me some comments to let me know what you thought of this chapter. Much love!


	34. We've Come So Far, My Dear

By the time Christmas rolled around the Gallagher family had all been working to better educate themselves about sexual orientation, mental illness, and openly communicating about fears and insecurities in an effort to help Marley and Kylan. The two middle Gallagher children appreciated the effort and felt closer to their parents and siblings than ever. "How the hell do you do this?" Aleksandr asked his brother as he helped Kylan prepare potato and cabbage Varenyky for Christmas Eve dinner at Ian and Mickey's house.

"Do not use such language, Aleksandr Mason!" Katia chastised her youngest grandchild. "You will fill, Kylan and I will make the dough." Katia had certainly passed her love of cooking down to her eldest grandson-the only member of the Gallagher or Milkovich family with a talent for cooking-and loved working in the kitchen with Kylan; the two worked seamlessly around each other. "Fold the dough over the filling gently and pinch the edges, Aleksandr."

"Ma, you puttin' my kids to work?" Mickey joked as he entered the kitchen with Ian close to his side. Aleksandr glanced at his parents, and wondered how they were still so in love after all of this time; he couldn't imagine the amount of work it would take to keep a marriage happy after over twenty years.

"Aleksandr should learn to cook; I taught you when you were much younger, miy solodkyy khlopetsʹ." Katia reminded her youngest son, patting his cheek lovingly.

"Vsi vony mayutʹ svoyi talanty, mama." Mickey replied, easily slipping back into Ukrainian as he always did around his mother. After over twenty-five years of being in a relationship with Mickey-and years of friendship before hand-Ian had learned some Ukrainian, but he would never be able to keep up with fluency his husband, children, and in-laws spoke with.

"I vsi vony doskonali, miy solodkyy khlopetsʹ. Odnak ya zavzhdy viryu, shcho vsi povynni navchytysya hotuvaty." Katia said, turning to smile at Aleksandr as he passed a tray full of perfectly filled and folded Varenyky back to Kylan. "Very good, Aleksandr."

"Hey, baby boy, is Case comin' over for dinner?" Ian asked, sneaking a cooked Varenyky and popping it into his mouth before his mother-in-law, eldest son, or husband could chastise him. Ian and Mickey had always attempted to stay close to their children and get to know their significant others, but if asked both would admit Lana and Case were their favorites.

"No, his Grandma lives in Evanston, so his family is going there." Aleksandr replied, keeping most of his focus on filling and folding dumplings. "He said to tell everyone Merry Christmas and he hopes he can see you all on New Year's Eve."

"He is such a nice boy." Katia said, lowering more Varenyky into the boiling oil. "Handsome, too."

"Yeah." Aleksandr replied with a dark blush creeping onto his pale cheeks. Ian chuckled and kissed his son's temple.

"Go wash your hands and tell Lee and May dinner's gonna be done, soon." Ian instructed his youngest son, and watching the boy dart up the stairs.

 

"Ma, come on! Tell Mick to be nice to me!" Iggy exclaimed as Mickey cracked a joke about Iggy being childish.

"Man, fuck that! I grew up at fuckin' seventeen." Mickey laughed, subconsciously leaning into Ian's side.

"'Cause you got pregnant! That shit don't count!" Iggy exclaimed. "You wanted to fuckin' keep your kid so you had to act like an adult!"

"Or maybe you just need to learn to act like one." Lip chimed in, earning laughs from everyone in the Gallagher/Milkovich combined family.

"Some among us were just meant to fall in love and grow old before our twentieth birthday." Frank offered, making Katia nod sadly.

"Aunt Mandy always said Mama was an old man in disguise." Mayla stated, making Lana chuckle softly.

"He's not an old man; I'd know." Ian got an elbow to the ribs for that one.

"The fuck did I say about talkin' about shit like that around my fuckin' kids?" Mickey asked through gritted teeth as a dark blush spread over his cheeks.

"I'm sorry, baby." Ian said with a pout, turning his head to place a soft kiss on Mickey's lips.

"Really? You two always gotta act like fuckin' teenagers in love? You're in your damn forties!" Fiona groaned in faux annoyance.

"They're cute!" Debbie gushed, causing Zach to roll his eyes playfully at his wife. The two of them reminded Ian of himself and Mickey, though they had never been able to have children-Debbie having found out she was infertile two years after they got married when the twins were only four-but it still warmed his heart to see that his baby sister had found a man to love her the way Mickey loved him.

"Wish they'd stop." Carl grumbled, balancing Brynn on his lap as Eva tried to get Wyatt to eat when all he wanted was to play with Kylan's hair.

"You don't wanna be that in love when our kids are teenagers?" Eva asked as she successfully fed Wyatt a bite of peas and carrots.

"Mo, Mama!" Wyatt exclaimed once he got done chewing the bite of vegetables in his mouth.

"Wish our kids had liked vegetables that much." Ian said, watching as his nephew happily ate more.

"Ky never minded 'em." Marley said as she picked around the vegetables Mickey had insisted she put on her plate.

"And yet you still hate them." Mandy said, shaking her head as her niece stuffed a bite of Turkey into her mouth.

"Are holidays always like this with you guys?" Lana asked, looking around at the large family as everyone tried to talk over each other.

"Usually." Fiona, Mickey, Debbie, Lip, Liam, and Kylan said in unison.

"So glad I cancelled on my snobby ass sister!" Lana giggled as the chaotic family resumed their usual banter. Ian watched on with a smile as his family enjoyed their day together, until he noticed that Aleksandr was being uncharacteristically quiet, even for him.

 

"Hey, did you notice how quiet Alek was at dinner?" Ian asked his husband as they worked together to clean their kitchen.

"Yeah, not sure why, though; he was fine before." Mickey replied, trying to think of what could have happened between helping his mother prepare dinner and the meal itself.

"I have no idea; just hope he's okay." Ian sighed, closing the dishwasher and drying his hands on a dish towel.

"He's fourteen, baby; he's gonna be moody and quiet from time to time. But we both know if somethin' was wrong, Alek would tell us." Mickey reassured his husband before turning his head to stare at the wall.

"What?" Ian asked, trying to figure out what his husband was looking at.

"Merry Christmas, baby." Mickey whispered as he turned back to Ian, giving the redhead a chance to glance at the clock hanging on the kitchen wall, which read that it was Midnight. Ian let out a huffed chuckled before wrapping his left arm around his husband's waist. "He's okay, Ian; if not, he'll talk to us." Ian nodded, but still felt a little sick at the idea that something might be wrong with their baby boy.

 

"Hey, Dad?" Aleksandr called out as Ian reached the top of the stairs around three in the morning after he'd went back down to get a glass of water. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, bud, what's up?" Ian asked, turning to face the Mickey döppleganger standing in the doorway of the bedroom he shared with his older brother. Aleksandr seemed nervous so Ian took an apprehensive step closer to his son. "Are you okay, Alek?"

"Is it... Is it wrong that I don't feel as close to Arden, anymore?" Aleksandr shyly asked. Ian felt horrible, but he was slightly relieved that the only problem was his relationship with his cousin.

"Why do you say that, bud?" Ian asked, wondering what had caused this sudden change of heart; Aleksandr and Arden had always been the best of friends.

"Just... He's been acting different, you know? He acts like Aunt Mandy and Uncle Lip are to blame for every shitty decision he makes." Aleksandr explained, pulling the sleeves of his thermal shirt down over his hands.

"I think most teenagers go through that stage at some point, but if you don't feel as close to him because of it, that's what you feel-I can't change your mind for you-even though I do think you should remember he's been your best friend for your entire life." Ian said, trying to read Aleksandr's expression for any sign he was changing his mind.

"I still love him-like you said, he's always been my best friend, and he's my cousin-but I just feel like the way he's acting is fucking bullshit." Aleksandr told his father as he lit a cigarette Ian hadn't even realized he was holding. "We make our own choices; not our parents."

"He'll realize that, someday." Ian assured his youngest child as the boy passed the cigarette to him. "Thanks." Ian muttered as he took a slow drag off the cigarette. "But you shouldn't worry too much. Okay?" Aleksandr nodded as Ian passed the cigarette back to him. "Get some sleep. Love you." Ian hugged his son loosely, chuckling as the boy grumbled before hugging him back.

"Love you, too, Dad." With Aleksandr's words, both Gallagher men went off to bed.

"What took you so long?" Mickey mumbled as he snuggled up to Ian.

"Alek needed to talk; he's okay, just feeling a little distant from Arden." Ian informed his husband, kissing the brunette man's hair.

"Glad that's it." Mickey yawned.

"Me too." Ian whispered, allowing himself to fall asleep in Mickey's arms.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:  
> miy solodkyy khlopetsʹ-"my sweet boy"  
> Vsi vony mayutʹ svoyi talanty, mama.-"They all have their own talents, Mama."  
> I vsi vony doskonali, miy solodkyy khlopetsʹ. Odnak ya zavzhdy viryu, shcho vsi povynni navchytysya hotuvaty.-"And they are all perfect, my sweet boy. However, I will always believe everyone should learn to cook."


	35. I'm Still Here-Part One

"Dad?" Ian asked groggily as he answered his phone just after three in the morning. "Somethin' wrong?"

 _"Liam wrecked his car... It was real bad, Ian."_ Ian felt his fucking heart stop as soon as the words left his father's mouth; Liam had always been such a careful driver, and had never had so much as a speeding ticket.

"Is... Is he in the hospital?" Ian asked, shaking his husband awake.

 _"He's at Mercy. Don't tell the kids until we know anything."_ As bad as Frank had been during Ian's childhood, he was fantastic with Ian's children, but he wasn't sure he could keep something like this from them.  _"Liam's a Gallagher, son; he'll be okay, but you know how much your kids worry."_ Frank made a fairly decent point.

"Dad, I gotta tell my kids-Mayla at the very least-'cause you know how close she is to Liam." Mickey sat up, giving Ian a questioning look. 'Accident' Ian mouthed to his husband, loving the man even more when he jumped up and started getting dressed. "Me and Mick'll be there in a few. Thanks for callin' me, Dad."

 _"Not a problem, son. I'll see you, soon."_ Frank hung up the phone and Ian was calling his eldest daughter as he got dressed.

 _"Daddy, what's wrong?"_ Mayla asked as she answered the phone, clearly tired, but concerned that her father was calling her after three in the morning.

"Your Uncle Liam got in an accident, baby; he's at Mercy. You gotta work tomorrow, so stay home and your mom or me will call you when we know something." Ian instructed his daughter.

 _"You fuckin' expect me to stay home after you tell me that? I'll be there in twenty. Love you, Daddy."_ Mayla said, hanging up on Ian without another word.

"Your daughter, man." Ian sighed. "Mick... He's three years older than May and..." Ian felt panic rushing in as he thought about his brother who was barely older than his princess being in a fucking hospital bed.

"Hey, he's gonna be okay, babe. I fuckin' promise, Liam's gonna be okay." Mickey swore, holding Ian's face between his hands. "He's a fuckin' Gallagher; Gallagher's fuckin' fight."

"My dad said the same thing." Ian chuckled humorlessly. "What if he's not okay? That's Fiona's fuckin' kid in pretty much every fuckin' way, Mick."

"Right now? We're gonna wake Alek up, tell him what's goin' on, update him, and then we're gonna go to the hospital and be with your family. Okay?" Ian nodded, knowing Mickey was staying calm for his sake; he loved Liam as much as Ian did. He fallowed his husband in a blur to their son's room, listened to him explain what was going on to Aleksandr, and let Mickey lead him to his car and drive towards the hospital.

 

"Ian!" Fiona sobbed, sagging against her brother's chest once he was close enough for her to cling to him.

"Sorry we called you two so late." Frank apologized, pulling his son-in-law into a hug.

"Don't worry about it, Frank." Mickey replied, accepting a hug from a distraught Fiona when she reached for him. "He's gonna be okay, Fiona." Mickey whispered to his sister-in-law. He'd known Liam his entire life, and knew the youngest of Ian's siblings was as much a fighter as the rest of the Gallagher family; the rest of  _his_ family.

"Some asshole was in the wrong damn lane and hit him..." Fiona said so quietly Mickey and Ian had to strain to hear her. This made a lot more sense to Ian-given how cautious of a driver Liam had always been-but terrified him at the same time; head-on collisions caused some of the worst injuries he'd treated in his 20+ year carrier as an EMT. He didn't want to think about what kind of shape his brother might be in.

"Daddy!" Ian didn't have a chance to respond before he had his arms full of a clearly exhausted brunette. Mayla looked so much younger than her twenty-four years dressed in one of Ian's old hoodies she'd taken with her to college as a sort of security blanket with no makeup on and her hair swept back, and it broke Ian's fucking heart; she resembled what he still viewed her as-his baby girl-and she was so fucking scared and sad. "Do you know anything, yet?"

"He's gettin' some X-rays and a CT scan done, May." Frank offered, patting his beloved granddaughter's shoulder.

"What was he doin' out this late?" Mayla asked, causing Ian to realize he hadn't thought about that; Liam worked as a classroom assistant of a kindergarten class, so he would have needed to be up for work in a few hours.

"He woke me up and said a friend of his was drunk off their ass and needed him to pick them up; asked if I'd mind them crashin' in Debs' old room for the night." Fiona explained, sniffling and taking the tissue Mickey offered her from the small box on the table behind him. "He didn't make it there, I guess, 'cause he was alone in the car."

"Anyone call Carl or Debs?" Mickey asked his sister-in-law. He knew he'd called Lip, himself, to make sure he was aware of the situation when he and Ian were on their way to the hospital, but he hadn't thought to inform the two younger Gallagher siblings.

"I called Carl; him and Eva are dropping the kids off with Mandy and they'll be here." Frank offered. "He said he'd call Debbie as soon as we got off the phone." 'Thank fuckin' God for Gallagher phone-tag.' Mickey thought as the Emergency Room was flooded with more of the family-Lip with bleary eyes and his son plastered close to his side, Debbie clinging to Zach, and Carl and Eva leading the pack, seemingly trying to hold it together for everyone else-all listening to Fiona as she repeated the story.

"He's gonna be okay, though, right?" Arden asked hopefully, keeping himself glued to Lip the same way Mickey and Ian's daughter was with Ian; despite the situation, Mickey thought it was a good sign that Arden was both seeking comfort from his father and offering some in return.

"Hey, what did I used to tell you about the Gallaghers?" Lip asked his son as the boy-looking so much younger than his sixteen years-clung tighter to him.

"Gallaghers know how to get back up." Arden reminded himself.

"Your dad's right, kid; Liam's a tough son of a bitch." Carl commented, trying to comfort the entire family in his own, very unusual way.

"How long do you think we're gonna be waitin' before we hear anything, Daddy?" Mayla asked Ian as she moved to hug Mickey.

"Depends, but the fact that he didn't have to be rushed into surgery is a pretty good sign." Ian answered in a more professional manner than Mickey had been expecting, given the situation. "Hopefully there is no swelling the his brain, but a couple of broken bones wouldn't be too big of a deal; he can easily recover from that."

The family accepted this, and took up their posts in the uncomfortable emergency room chairs to wait for some news on Liam. This would be a long night, but the Gallagher's were tough, and stood by each other through anything.


	36. I'm Still Here-Part Two

Debbie, Zach, Carl, Eva, Fiona, and Frank had all fallen asleep in their seats after awhile, leaving only Ian, Mickey, Lip, Arden, and Mayla awake and waiting for news about Liam. "Were you and Mom ever like that?" Arden asked his father, pointing at where Mickey was playing with Ian's hand to keep himself awake, his head resting on his husband's shoulder while Ian stared down at the handsome brunette at his side.

"We love each other." Lip argued, knowing he'd never been as affectionate with his wife as his brother was with his husband.

"Not like them." Arden pointed out. "You guys always been like that?"

"Pretty much." Ian said, still staring down at Mickey. "Been in love with him since I was a kid, so why wouldn't we show it?"

"Should've seen 'em when I was a kid; they still acted like teenagers in love." Mayla informed her cousin. "Pretty much the same, now, I guess."

"How long have you actually been together?" Arden asked, realizing he wasn't sure how long his uncles had been in a relationship.

"Almost twenty-seven years." Mickey said, lacing his fingers with Ian's.

"Damn. You been with Mom, what, 25 years?" Arden asked his father.

"About, yeah." Lip replied with a nod. "Damn, man, we've made it work for over twenty years with two people from the Milkovich family... I remember there was a time we woulda thought that was impossible."

"Was Terry really that bad?" Mayla asked her uncle.

"He was... He was a literal fuckin' monster, May." Lip replied as honestly as he could without revealing any information Mickey and Ian may not want their daughter knowing. "No one mourned that man; he did too much harm."

"Do you ever wish he'd met any of us, Mama?" Mayla asked, wondering what Terry would have thought if he had met his grandchildren.

"Not at all." Mickey said without hesitation. "He was such a homophobe he woulda hated you guys just 'cause you came from me and your dad."

"Why'd grandma Katie stay with him?" Mayla asked, looking at her parents and uncle-who she assumed would know, given he had married Terry and Katia's daughter-though all three of the older men had gone eerily silent, concerning both younger Gallaghers. "Oh." Mayla said quietly, realizing what their silence truly meant.

"Why? I mean... She's tough as shit, but Grandma Katie's amazing... Why... Why would anyone..." Arden sputtered out, looking sickly pale.

"He was... Hard to live with. Your Uncle Iggy said things changed between him and Ma after I was born-he never wanted me-and she was scared to leave him; she barely spoke English, had no money, and had two kids. She had your mom when I was one, and then just... Never left." Mickey tried to explain, though his daughter and nephew looked both angry and hurt that their grandmother and parents had gone through such horrific treatment.

"Was Monica that bad?" Arden asked his uncle, having heard stories about Ian having hated Monica for years after her revealing Mickey was pregnant with Mayla to Terry Milkovich.

"She wasn't abusive, but she wasn't a good parent; she abandoned us, stole from us, did drugs, and showed up just to drop more kids in your Aunt Fiona's lap." Lip explained calmly. "She was a horrible mother, but we had your Aunt Fiona and your Grandma Katie to help us out."

"Ma fuckin' loves your asses for some reason." Mickey joked, earning soft laughter from Lip and Ian.

"Gallagher?" A doctor called as he walked into the living room. Lip walked over to the doctor as Ian woke their family, leaving Mickey with Mayla and Arden. "Liam has a concussion, broken femur, fractured collarbone, four broken fingers on his right hand, and a hairline fracture in his right wrist, but he'll be just fine." The whole Gallagher family let out an audible sigh of relief upon hearing that Liam was alright.

"Can we see him?" Fiona asked, clutching Ian's hand for support.

"Only two people at a time, but he is awake, so I see no problem with it. Is there a Fiona here? Liam asked for her." The doctor explained, leading Fiona and Frank back to Liam's room.

 

"Daddy?" Marley called out groggily as Ian and Mickey entered their bedroom after leaving the hospital.

"Hey, baby girl." Ian whispered, smoothing down Marley's black hair as he sat next to her on the bed he shared with his husband.

"Is Uncle Liam okay?" Marley asked, her bright green eyes barely open.

"A few broken bones and a concussion, but he's okay." Mickey assured his daughter after he exited the bathroom, dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt.

"Good." The girl yawned, stretching out on the bed. Ian stood to walk into their en suite bathroom to change his clothes, assuming Marley was staying in their bed for the night with her parents. He didn't mind, though; he knew he'd miss his children wanting to curl up in bed with him and Mickey once Kylan and the twins were out of the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Liam is okay! Leave me some comments to let me know what you thought of this chapter. Much love!


	37. Time Changes Us

After Liam's accident things started to change for Ian. His sex drive was practically fucking non-existent, and he couldn't understand why; his husband was still as fucking perfect as ever, but he just couldn't seem to get it up, no matter how much he wanted it. "For the love of fuckin' God!" Ian sighed, dropping onto the bed next to Mickey. They had a rare day off together, and decided to take advantage of the time alone while their three youngest children were in school.

"Ian, it's fine." Mickey assured Ian, though the redhead could see that his husband's cock was still rock hard.

"No it's not, Mick; I'm forty, I shouldn't already have a problem gettin' my dick hard! I'm married to an amazingly fucking sexy man; I should just be able to  _look_ at you and get it up!" Ian groaned, scrubbing his hands over his face. "Need to talk to my fuckin' doctor or somethin'."

"Babe, just 'cause we can't still fuck like teenagers don't mean anything." Mickey deadpanned, knowing Ian was becoming very self-conscious about his apparent erectile dysfunction. "Like you said, you're forty, and I'm forty-one; most people our age ain't still all over each other."

"'Cause most people our age are boring." Ian tried to joke, though he secretly felt like he was failing his husband. "Lay back." Ian ordered, sitting up enough to gently push the naked brunette back onto the pillows.

"Ian-" The gasp that tore it's way out of Mickey's throat cut him off as Ian swallowed his cock down. "Holy fuck!" Mickey moaned, arching his back off the mattress as Ian bobbed his head up and down on his cock, swirling his tongue around the sensitive head with every other upward stroke. "Fuck, baby... Fuck, don't stop." Ian didn't plan to; even if he couldn't fuck Mickey-and knew Mickey hated topping with a fucking passion-he wanted to be able to get his fucking husband off.

"Ian!" Mickey shouted as he came down Ian's throat. "Baby, you didn't-" Mickey let out a startled moan as Ian connected their lips in a passionate kiss.

"Trust me when I tell you I don't fuckin' mind doin' that." Ian purred, scratching Mickey's sweaty scalp softly.

 

"Nothing?" Lip questioned as he and Ian sat at lunch the next day discussing Ian's recent problems in bed.

"I want it, but it's just... Not happening." Ian sighed, popping a french fry into his mouth.

"Can't say I've ever had that problem, but your life is a little more stressful; four kids, job where you get the shit knocked outta you almost daily, a daughter who is still gettin' over a manipulative and emotionally abusive relationship, a bipolar son, and you were the one helpin' Liam with his Physical therapy... It might just be from stress combined with the fact that you're not twenty, anymore." Lip reasoned. "I'd say try meds for awhile, and then try comin' off of 'em."

"Yeah, maybe... Feel like Mick's gonna start worryin' that I'm fuckin' someone else or something." Ian admitted, though he knew Mickey had long since forgiven him for his one moment of weakness years ago.

"You guys are still all over each other; I don't think you need to worry about that." Lip chuckled, looking down when a woman in her seventies turned to them and gasped.

"I hope you're right." Ian sighed, not at all bothered by the woman next to them.

 

"Think he's gettin' it somewhere else?" Iggy asked Mickey as he sat across from his younger brother in Mickey's office.

"He's not cheating on me, you fuckin' asshole." Mickey snapped, already embarrassed that Iggy had caught him researching erectile dysfunction. "Look, this isn't any of your fuckin' business."

"He did it, before." Iggy pointed out, causing Mickey to grip the pen in his hand tighter. "What? Just 'cause your forgave Ian don't mean I did."

"That was fifteen years ago, and he's not fuckin' cheating on me, so drop it." Mickey snapped, though he now felt unsure about it.

 

"Mick... Look, I know Iggy's still got some issues with me, but I swear, he's wrong." Ian promised, staring into Mickey's eyes as they sat in their bed that night after Mickey told him what Iggy had said. He knew he should feel embarrassed that his brother-in-law knew he couldn't get hard, but, he was more concerned that Mickey was feeling like he might really cheat on him, again.

"I know... I really do, but... I mean, I'm not twenty, anymore." Mickey mumbled, looking away from Ian.

"Neither am I. Mickey, baby, I love you so fuckin' much I'd never be able to fuck someone else." Ian swore, taking Mickey's hand in his own. "Please just... Say you believe me."

"Yeah." Mickey whispered, pulling Ian into a hug. He knew Iggy was being dramatic, but it had still made him nervous. Hearing Ian say he loved him, however? It had someone erased that fear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me some comments, beauties! Much love!


	38. I've Lost Who I Really Am

By the time summer rolled around the Gallagher family was in a better place; Liam had completely recovered, Debbie and Zach had found a surrogate to carry their baby, Frank had decided to quit drinking in an effort to be around for his grandchildren for a lot longer, Kylan's medication was finally stabilized, and therapy and anti-anxiety medication had done the trick for Ian's ... problem. His sex life was back to normal and his family was happy and healthy, so Ian was in a good place as he sat next to the small in-ground pool he and Mickey had installed when the twins were six with Kylan and Mayla while Mickey was with the twins getting Marley's hair cut. Ian went to stand when he heard the doorbell, but Kylan stopped him.

"I got it, Dad." Kylan said, hopping up and running into the house.

"Kid hates sittin' still." Ian chuckled with a fond smile as he watched his son running into the house.

"Always has." Mayla replied as she applied more sunscreen to her ivory legs. "Mama said he was the same way at Ky's age; hated bein' in the same place for too long."

"Your Mama was calmer about it." Ian said, taking a drink of his beer. "Ky'll run a mile if it means he don't gotta stay still."

 

Kylan reached the door right as whoever was on the other side rang the bell, again. "Hey, can I help you?" Kylan politely asked as he opened the front door, seeing a man who looked like a preppier version of his father; of himself in twenty years.

"Yeah, I'm looking for Ian Gallagher?" The preppy redhead stated as more of a question, staring at the younger redhead with wide eyes. "I'm Jacob Gallagher; Clayton's son." When Kylan gave him nothing but a blank look, Jacob thought he should clarify. "Frank's my uncle."

"Ian's my Dad; he's out back. Follow me." Kylan said, trusting the man when he mentioned his grandfather. Jacob looked around at the... Quant little house as he walked through, not really paying attention to anything rather than the fact that the whole first floor of this house would fit in his living room or his mother's den. "Dad? This guy's lookin' for you; his Dad is grandpa's brother, apparently."

"Hey, I'm Ian. The talker who walked you out here was my son, Kylan." Ian greeted when he walked up to the patio where Jacob had stopped.

"Jacob." Jacob said, staring at the beautiful brunette woman dressed only in a navy blue string bikini with ivory lace trim, his eyes tracing the colorful, floral tattoo adorning her left thigh, the large area of script on her right, and the sparrow on her right side. This woman was fucking gorgeous; how had his cousin bagged such a hot younger woman?

"Not that I'm tryin' to be rude, but is there a reason you're here?" Ian asked, clearly not noticing his eyes lingering on his wife.

"Right. Well, my parents split up when I was thirteen. I didn't get a clear answer on why until my Dad was diagnosed with cancer and had to move into an assisted living facility; I had to clean out his house and I found a letter from a woman named Monica claiming her son, Ian, belonged to him and was making some huge mistake. I asked my Dad about Monica-lied and said I had found a picture with her name on the back-and he told me Monica was his brother Frank's wife. I put two and two together and started looking for men named Ian Gallagher close to my age and... Here we are." Jacob explained, watching Ian wryly as the older man's eyes traced his face, obviously noting the similarities between them; the same red hair, same jawline, same nose, same mouth, and even the same eyebrows.

"W-what?" Ian asked, clearly caught off guard.

"Daddy!" A young girl called as she ran out the back door, smiling brightly as she removed her aviator sunglasses and ran her fingers through her short, curly black hair, capturing a strand that had been dyed blue on the side of her head that wasn't shaved. "What do you think?"

"You look beautiful, Diva. I thought you were goin' with purple?" Ian asked the girl as she stripped off her black tank top, leaving her in a red string bikini top.

"Alek said the blue would look better on me; sometimes havin' the stereotypically gay brother pays off." The girl giggled, taking off her shorts without caring that a stranger was sitting right next to where she was standing. "Hi, I'm Marley. Who are you?" The girl asked Jacob, extending a hand to him with a warm smile.

"This is Jacob, Diva; my cousin." Ian said for Jacob as he shook Marley's hand. He was still trying to process what Jacob had told him-and wondering if what Monica had told Jacob's father was true-but didn't want to concern his daughter.

"Oh, cool! Well, I'm gonna go swim. Nice to meet you, Jacob!" Marley called as she ran off to the pool.

"Guess you have a type, man." Jacob laughed, looking back to the beautiful brunette sitting by the pool.

"Huh?" Ian asked, looking at the door as a brunette boy in grey board shorts and a brunette man exited the house.

"I mean, your daughter's a pale brunette, and so is your wife, but she's way too young to be her mother. She's hot as fuck, by the way." Jacob said, causing Ian to jump up from his seat and the brunette man to aggressively turn Jacob's chair and glare at him.

"Keep your fuckin' eyes off my daughter, asshole!" The brunette snapped, moving to punch Jacob as Ian pulled him back.

"Mick, stop!" Ian shouted, cupping the man's-Mick's, apparently-jaw when he sat him back on his feet. "I got this. Go talked to May." Mickey gritted his teeth but nodded, kissing Ian's lips lightly before walking away.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know..." Didn't know what? That Ian was gay? That he had a daughter in her twenties? Jacob wasn't sure, but he felt disgusted with himself. "Your kids are beautiful."

"I know that." Ian snapped, moving until he was right in Jacob's face. "Was she what you were starin' at? Fuck! I thought you were as stuck on Kylan lookin' like me-like  _you-_ as I was!"

"I had no idea she was your daughter, Ian; I'm so sorry." Jacob apologized, looking towards Mickey. "She looks like a lot like your husband."

"Look, I don't fuckin' care what Monica told your dad-and don't bother tellin' me his name, 'cause I don't give a shit-'cause I have a father; I have a father I love who loves me and my kids, so I don't fuckin' need another one." Ian let out a heavy sigh and shook his head, clearly trying to calm himself down. "You should leave; I have a family, and you and your Dad ain't part of it." Jacob nodded and turned around, wishing he could've at least convinced Ian to meet his father.

 

"What're you gonna do?" Mickey asked Ian as they stood under the warm spray of their shower, his arms wrapped tightly around his husband.

"I don't know... Frank Gallagher's my father, but... What if he's not?" Ian asked, stroking his thumbs over the stretch marks their children had left on Mickey's hips.

"Would you love any of our kids any less if they weren't biologically yours?" Mickey asked, clearly trying to make a point.

"No; they're my babies." Ian replied vehemently.

"Would you love Fiona any less if she was just your half-sister?" Mickey asked.

"No." Ian said, shaking his head, which flung water off his hair into Mickey's face. "Sorry." Ian laughed, kissing Mickey's nose.

"It's fine. Asshole." Mickey chuckled, leaning up to peck Ian's lips. "Anyway, family's not just blood; Frank's your Dad no matter what."

"I love you." Ian said, kissing Mickey to end the conversation. He knew Mickey had a point, but he was still feeling a little unsure of where this new information left him.


	39. I Knew You Were Trouble

Kylan knew he'd end up getting fucked over royally by fooling around with Will Carmine-the goalie on the School's soccer team and a boy notorious for sleeping around-but he really didn't give a shit; Will was hot, a great kisser, and a pretty good lay, so he'd deal with the trouble down the road. "I seriously have to go; I'm drivin' my brother and sister home from school!" Kylan laughed softly as Will kissed up the side of Kylan's throat.

"Can't your cousin do it?" Will asked, his deep voice rumbling against Kylan's exposed skin as his large, honey tinted hands worked their way under Kylan's black Linkin Park t-shirt.

"No, I gotta go or my Mom's never gonna let me use his car, again!" Kylan panted, pulling himself away from the younger boy and placing one last, lingering kiss on his lips. "Same time tomorrow?" Kylan purred against Will's lips.

"Earlier; wanna be able to actually get it in, tomorrow." Will growled, slapping Kylan's ass as the redhead exited the empty stage area to meet up with Aleksandr and Marley.

 

"Fuckin' finally!" Marley shouted from where she and Aleksandr were leaning against Mickey's SUV. "Is Will Carmine's dick really so important that you had to keep us waitin'?" The brunette girl asked, stubbing out her cigarette.

"Shut up and get in the damn car, brat." Kylan muttered as a deep, crimson blush worked it's way onto his cheeks. "Alek gets shotgun."

"What? Why?!" Marley demanded as Aleksandr walked around to the passenger side door.

"'Cause he's not a little shit." Kylan replied as he hopped into the driver's seat and started the car.

 

"Mom! Dad, we're home!" Kylan called out as he walked into the family's home in front of the twins.

"Hey, guys." Mickey greeted his children from the kitchen table where he was seated with Ian. "You guys have a good day?"

"Until Ky made us wait so he could suck Will Carmine's cock." Marley said, plopping onto the kitchen chair closest to Ian.

"Will you shut the hell up?" Kylan griped, throwing himself onto the couch.

"Not my fault you're fuckin' the biggest man whore in our school." Marley said with a shrug. She might be acting a little bit bitchy, but she still had a sour taste in her mouth about athletes after what had happened with Todd. 

"Marley, leave your brother alone. Kylan, use condoms." Ian said, knowing there was no point trying to talk his eldest son out of seeing the boy he knew was in Aleksandr's class.

"Not like I can get pregnant." Kylan muttered, causing Ian to glare at him.

"Oh, I was unaware that you could only get an STI if you could get pregnant!" Ian sarcastically called towards Kylan, earning a choked laugh from Mickey.

"Okay, okay, I get it!" Kylan groaned, flopping down onto his stomach and burying his face in the couch cushions to hide the blush on his cheeks.

 

"Think we should be worried?" Ian asked his husband after Kylan and the twins had went to bed. Ian hadn't exactly been himself since Jacob Gallagher's explosive reveal, and a big part of that was him watching his children like a hawk. Mickey understood to an extent that Ian needed some form of stability in his life, and that seemed to come in the form of constantly ensuring all four of his children were safe and healthy.

"Ky's a smart kid; he's not gonna do anything stupid." Mickey tried to assure Ian as the redhead rolled onto his stomach. Mickey moved to straddle Ian's hips and started to work at the tension knot between his shoulders, earning an appreciative moan from the man below him. "The shit Jacob said? It don't change who you are, baby.

"You're still Ian Gallagher; you're still Frank's son, Fiona, Lip, Carl, Debbie, and Liam's brother, Mayla, Kylan, Aleksandr, and Marley's father, and you're still my husband. We all know Monica lied to get shit she wanted." Mickey whispered to the man he loved more than anyone else in this world aside from the children they'd created together.

"Thank you for puttin' up with my shit, Mick." Ian mumbled into his pillow.

"Don't gotta thank me; you put up with my bullshit everday." Mickey joked, kissing Ian's cheek before moving to lay down beside him. "I love you, Ian Gallagher."

"Love you." Ian slurred as he started to fall asleep, managing to throw his arm over Mickey in an attempt to pull his husband closer. Mickey just smiled, shook his head, and curled himself around Ian's sleeping form.

 

"Hey, Gallagher! Need to talk to you!" Will called out as he entered the cafeteria the next day, pulling Kylan's attention away from the conversation he was having with his siblings, cousin, and his younger brother's boyfriend. Kylan didn't know what the fuck Will was doing; they never actually spoke to one another while school was in session, despite everyone knowing they were sleeping together.

"Busy right now, Carmine." Kylan stated flatly, turning his attention back to Aleksandr. "So, do you think I'll be able to swing a B on it?"

"Uhm... Y-yeah." Aleksandr stuttered, uncomfortable with the way Will was glaring at him.

"Gallagher, man, we really gotta talk!" Will demanded, placing a hand on Kylan's shoulder.

"I just told you I'm busy, Will." Kylan replied numbly, feeling a little tired as his medication started to kick in.

"Yeah, well, I figured you fuckin' owed me since you knocked me up!" Will snapped back. And just like that, Kylan could feel his entire world falling down around him. He knew Will would be trouble, but not like this. Kylan Gallagher was completely fucked.

 


	40. Facing Consequences

Mickey yawned as he double-checked his numbers on his latest business account, wishing the day would hurry up and end so he could get home to his husband and kids. Mickey smiled when he heard his cellphone ringing-assuming it was Ian calling during his own lunch break-but the smile fell from his face when he saw the contact photo he had set for Aleksandr-a picture of Aleksandr laughing as Marley and Kylan made ridiculous faces at the camera-because he knew something had to be wrong for Aleksandr to call him during the school day. "Alek, baby, what's wrong?" Mickey asked, his heart racing and his hands already digging through his desk drawers for his car keys when he heard screaming in the background and Aleksandr's heavy breathing.

"Mama... You gotta come get Ky." Was all Aleksandr managed to say before Mickey was rushing out of his office.

 

"Kylan, stop!" Aleksandr screamed, watching his brother with wide eyes as Kylan continued to trash the backstage area of the school's auditorium.

"Alek, we got him." Arden calmly said, stepping around his cousin with Case in tow, both grabbing one of Kylan's arms and forcing the redheaded boy to sit on the ground. "Calm down, Ky! Look at what you're doin' to Alek!" Arden demanded, causing Kylan's angry green eyes to snap up, meeting the fearful blue ones belonging to his younger brother. Kylan quickly looked away, unable to face the terror he'd caused his youngest sibling.

"Kylan, man, we all know you're not the only guy Will's sleepin' with; the kid might not even be yours." Case tried to reason, putting both of his legs over Kylan's to keep the boy on the ground.

"Mama's here." Aleksandr quietly stated as he looked down at the cellphone in his hand, clearly reading the text Mickey had sent him.

"Anyway Miss Daughtry'll let him come in?" Case asked the three Gallagher men.

"Yeah. Lee said she's getting him and she'll bring him down here." Aleksandr nervously informed his boyfriend, trying not to focus on the way his brother was fighting against the hold Case and Arden had on him.

 

"Alek said they're backstage." Marley told Mickey as the two of them entered auditorium, both surprised by how silent the area was.

"He's with Arden and Case." Aleksandr sniffed as he stepped around the curtain. Mickey could see tears on his son's cheeks, but still had no idea what to expect when he made his way backstage with Aleksandr-now clinging to Mickey's arm-and Marley, who stayed behind the man.

"Ky..." Mickey sighed when he noticed props, costumes, makeup, and set pieces that had been thrown all over and his eldest son being held down by his nephew and his youngest son's boyfriend. "Boys, let him go." Mickey instructed the other two teenage boys as he knelt down in front of Kylan.

"Mama... Mama, I-I fucked up." Kylan's voice was raspy from screaming at the top of his lungs. Mickey didn't respond to what his son said; he just let the boy hug him and sob into his shoulder.

 

"Ever gonna tell me what that shit at the school was about?" Mickey asked Kylan, who had taken to his bed the second they entered their home. The boy was completely silent, refusing to even look at Mickey, which was worrying Mickey more than anything; was Kylan experiencing his first major low? "Kylan, talk to me." Mickey pleaded, sitting down on the edge of his son's bed and placing his hand on the boy's back, which Kylan flinched away from as if the touch burnt his flesh. "Ky, please talk to me." Mickey begged, hoping his son would at least turn to look at him.

"Okay." Mickey whispered, gently touching Kylan's hair before standing up and exiting the boys' bedroom, dialing Ian's number as he gnawed on his thumbnail.

 _"Hey, babe. What's up?"_ Ian cheerfully answered, causing Mickey's stomach to lurch; he didn't want to ruin his husband's good mood.  _"Mick? Is somethin' wrong, baby?"_

"Can you come home, please?" Mickey quietly asked Ian, hoping he could understand that this was a pretty desperate situation.

 _"I'll be there in fifteen minutes."_ Was all Ian said before hanging up. Mickey just hoped Ian could at least get Kylan to explain what happened to set him off on such a rampage.

 

Two hours. Ian spent two hours in Kylan and Aleksandr's bedroom with the younger redhead while Mickey stayed downstairs with the twins and Mayla-who had come over after Marley called her crying about Kylan freaking out at school-waiting for Ian to come downstairs with some information. "Can you two please just tell us what you know?" Mayla asked, curling herself into Mickey's side as the man played with Marley's hair from where the girl was seated in the living room floor.

"It's Kylan's business, Mayla; not ours." Aleksandr stubbornly chimed in, though he kept his eyes downcast.

"He came home with bloody hands 'cause he was destroying the stage area, Alek." Mayla said, trying to sound calm despite her concern for her brother.

"And when he's ready he'll tell Mom and Dad what happened." Marley said defiantly. Any other time, Mickey would praise his children for being so loyal to one another, but right now? Right now he was too concerned about his eldest son's well-being to feel any pride in his youngest children's actions.

"Mick? Can you come up with me?" Ian asked from the foot of the stairs, his face paler than usual and his red hair a mess. This had to be bad.

 

Kylan still couldn't look at his parents; how could he? He had-possibly-gotten a boy he barely knew pregnant, and he wasn't ready to see the disappointment on their faces. "Ky..." Ian couldn't think of what to say to his son; all of their children knew that-despite not regretting their choice to keep Mayla-Mickey and Ian had faced a lot of struggles because they had been teenage parents.

"I don't want this, Dad." Kylan mumbled, pulling his covers tighter around him. This was his senor year; he was supposed to be having fun with his friends, applying to colleges, and enjoying the end of his High School experience, not becoming a father from a hookup. Kylan just wanted all of this to go away.


	41. An Unwanted Talk

Kylan fought them tooth and nail, but-eventually-Mickey and Ian got ahold of the Carmine family so they could discuss what Will wanted to do. "Mom, Dad, please don't make me do this!" Kylan begged, watching as Mickey loaded the dishwasher and Ian put groceries away, moving around each other with a practiced ease that came with being together for nearly thirty years. This was what Kylan wanted, someday; he wanted a partner who would split household tasks with him on a Saturday like his parents did, and who he could move around as naturally as airflow. He knew he could never have that with a man he only knew as a decent sexual partner.

"Ky, we love you, but you made this mess." Ian sighed as he closed the refrigerator. "We're pretty easy-going about most shit, but we've  _always_ told you kids to practice safe sex."

"Isn't that a little hypocritical? I mean, you were younger than me when you got Mom pregnant." Kylan said, earning him a hard glare from his father.

"We were actually in a relationship, and we've never made it a secret that being parents when we where just kids ourselves was hard!" Ian snapped, already fed up with Kylan's attitude, today. "You're going to stay right here with us and listen to what Will and his parents have to say."

"Not gonna tell me I have to take responsibility and be a Dad?" Kylan shyly asked his parents.

"We can't force you to be a parent." Mickey said, finally breaking his silence. "Whatever you and Will decide is up to the two of you, but you can't just pretend it isn't going on."

"I'm not ready to be a Dad." Kylan said quietly. "And... The baby might not be mine; I'm not the only guy he's been sleepin' since we started hookin' up." Kylan shyly informed his parents.

"Ian..." Mickey said, turning to look at his husband.

"I'll make the appointment." Ian replied, walking away from the kitchen.

"Appointment?" Kylan asked, watching Ian as he walked towards the stairs, clearly going after his phone.

"If he was sleeping with other people, you need to go get tested." Mickey said, making Kylan feel slightly sick; could he have caught something from Will? God, he hoped not.

 

Amara and Thomas Carmine were an attractive couple, Mickey realized as soon as they walked into the Gallagher's house. Amara was a stunningly gorgeous Venezuelan woman with long, curly brown hair, hazel eyes, delicate facial features, a tall, curvy body, and her skin was just slightly paler than that of her son. And Thomas? If Mickey wasn't so convinced his husband was the most beautiful man he'd ever laid eyes on he'd be drooling over Thomas Carmine; his dark, chestnut skin tone, nearly black dark brown eyes, short cropped hair, perfectly chiseled facial features, and tall, bulky frame were all incredibly handsome.

"Are you Mickey or Ian?" Amara asked, a kind smile on her lips.

"Mickey. Ian's dropping our younger kids off at my mom's house." Mickey explained, leading Amara, Thomas, and Will into the living room where Kylan sat, nervously gnawing at his thumbnail.

"This must be Kyle." Thomas said, a sneering expression on his handsome face.

"Kylan." Mickey corrected, moving to take a seat next to his son on the loveseat as the Carmines sat down on the couch.

"Your home is lovely, Mickey." Amara said politely, looking around at the pictures of the Gallagher family hanging on the wall before settling on the picture sitting on the end table closest to her-a photo Ian had taken on Mickey's forty-first birthday of Mickey sitting on the wicker sofa on their back porch between Kylan and Aleksandr with Mayla and Marley sitting on the little lip at the top of the sofa, all smiling at the camera-and smiling softly at it. "Your other son looks exactly like you... They're beautiful."

"Thank you." Mickey replied, thankful that Amara-at least-was willing to be civil. 

"Alek's real smart, Mama; he's the one who helped me get my chemistry grade up." Will said, looking apologetically at Kylan. Clearly, Will was as nervous about this conversation as Kylan.

"Oh! Gallagher is such a common last name, I didn't realize he was related to Kylan!" Amara exclaimed, her smile now much more animated. "Will is a smart boy, but science has never come easy to him; your Alek got him from a D to a B."

"Couldn't you go for the smart one, Will?" Thomas asked his son, which just pissed Mickey off; sure, Kylan had fucked up, here, but none of Mickey's children were stupid.

"Kylan's better at creating something out of nothing than science and math; give the kid a pencil or a guitar and he can make something amazing." Mickey bragged, already disliking how quick this man was to judge Kylan, when there was no telling if Will's baby belonged to Kylan or one of the other boys he was sleeping with. Mickey was getting ready to tear the guy a new one when Ian entered the house, only stopping to scratch Phantom's head before walking into the living room.

"Hi, I'm Ian Gallagher." Ian greeted Amara, Will, and Thomas. "Hey, kid." Ian said, squeezing Kylan's shoulder as he moved to sit on the other side of his son.

"Will, sweetie, I think we should talk about the elephant in the room, now." Amara prompted, patting her son's knee softly.

"What is there to talk about, Amara? He's gonna own up to his mistake and raise his baby! And this... Miscreant is gonna take responsibility and help!" Thomas shouted, causing Kylan to flinch slightly at his parents' side.

"That's Will and Kylan's choice, Mister Carmine." Ian calmly stated, which resulted in Will smiling thankfully. "We can't make their decision for them."

"They made their bed, now they can lay in it." Thomas scoffed, which pissed Ian off more than he would have imagined. If the poor kid and the clearly upset woman weren't sitting in the room, Ian would have pointed out that Thomas' son more than likely just assumed that Kylan was the father and wasn't actually sure who his child belonged to.

"I don't want the baby." Will almost silently objected, looking down at his lap. "I found out when I went to the doctor that it's already too late to abort, but I'm putting the baby up-" Will was cut off by Kylan taking a rather loud, ragged breath that Ian assumed was in relief; if Will was giving the child up for adoption, Kylan could go on with his life after the birth.

"Can I talk to Will outside for a minute?" Kylan asked, standing up and pulling Will off the couch and out the backdoor without waiting for an answer. Amara, Mickey, and Ian all exchanged confused looks, but didn't say a word.

 

"What the fuck, Ky?!" Will demanded, pulling his arm away from Kylan once they were outside.

"You can safely abort until you're twelve weeks pregnant." Kylan said quickly, but Will just looked confused.

"Yeah, so?" Will asked, not at all catching on to what Kylan was talking about.

"First time we fucked was two months ago; that's only eight weeks." Kylan stated, watching as all of the color drained from Will's face.


	42. Revolations

Mickey froze in the back doorway, staring at his son with wide eyes as Kylan reminded Will of the timeline of their affair. Will was wrong; Kylan couldn't be the father of his baby. As much as Mickey still wanted to slap the shit out of his son for being so reckless, he couldn't help feeling a bit of relief; Kylan wasn't going to be a teenage parent and face the same hardships he and Ian had while raising Mayla, or have the guilt of giving his child up looming over his head like a black rain cloud for the rest of his life. "It's not my kid." Kylan sighed, clearly as relieved as Mickey, himself, was.

"You two need to tell that fuckhead in there that." Mickey said as he closed the door, making sure Thomas Carmine didn't hear what he was saying to Will and Kylan. "You know who the Dad is, kid?" Mickey asked, sitting at the table with Kylan and Will. Will nodded, but the poor kid looked like he was going to be fucking sick at the thought.

"He's... I can't tell him." Will whispered, wiping his eyes as he finally looked up at Mickey and Kylan. "He's got a boyfriend."

"Shit, kid." Mickey sighed, wishing he could light a fucking cigarette to calm his nerves, but he wasn't about to do that around Will; he wasn't putting someone's unborn child in danger just because he wanted a damn smoke. "Look, I know bad dads-I had one-but you gotta tell your fuckin' parents the truth."

"My Dad's not always like this. He's just... Really strict." Will tried to defend, but Mickey could see right through the kid; he'd said the same shit to Fiona Gallagher when he was eight and ran to the Gallagher house with Mandy at his side-both bloodied and bruised-for safety after his mother had shoved them out of the house. He could still remember his mother's sad eyes as she told him to get Mandy to Fiona and get himself to Ian's side so Terry wouldn't get to them when he woke up from his drunken stupor. He sometimes woke up to the feeling of Terry kicking his jaw and the desire to be safe in Ian's arms even now, looking around his bedroom, only calming down when Ian would hold him and remind him that Terry could never hurt him, again.

"He is, right now, Will." Mickey said, feeling really bad for the scared boy in front of him. "My Dad was a mean old fucker; racist, homophobic, abusive... I could keep goin', but the thing is? I had a place I was safe; I had Ian. And when runnin' to him didn't make the fear and pain go away? I'd start a fight; bein' the one in control made me feel better.

"I can see straight through the act you put up, 'cause I been there; you're in control when you're havin' sex, and it makes it better for a second. I can tell your dad ain't violent, but he definitely says some harsh shit." Mickey explained, which caused Kylan to look at him like he'd grown an extra head.

"How'd it stop?" Will asked Mickey sincerely.

"Not a story I wanna tell, but the main thing was I got married to the person I was safe with." Mickey said softly, leaning back in his chair as Amara and Ian joined them on the back porch. "Where's Thomas? Don't want him alone with the cat; asshole might kill the poor thing."

"Went out to the car; sent Amara to get Will." Ian informed his husband.

"What were you three talking about?" Amara asked Will, running her fingers through his wavy brown hair lovingly.

"I just wanted to talk to Will about the adoption process in private; wanted to know if we were gonna meet with the parents a few times before the baby was born so we know they're in good hands." Kylan said, realizing Will was in no way ready to tell his parents that Kylan couldn't be the father of his child. He knew what he was signing up for, but Will needed what Mickey had with Ian when he was younger; he needed a safe space. And if that meant Kylan had to temporarily claim a child that wasn't his? So be it.

"We should go, Will." Amara said politely before walking back through the house and out the front door, leaving Will alone with the Gallaghers.

"Thank you." Will said as he and Kylan stood up, hugging the redheaded boy tightly.

"You need to talk, I'm here." Kylan promised, hugging Will back. He may not be the father of Will's child, but he did like the boy to an extent. Not in a romantic nature, but he could see them being friends. And right now, that seemed like exactly what Will needed.

 

"Think he'll ever tell you who the father is?" Ian asked Kylan after Mickey and their son explained what had transpired on the porch before he and Amara had walked out.

"Maybe someday." Kylan replied with a shrug. "He needs someone, right now, Dad."

"I get it, Monster." Ian confirmed, patting his döppleganger on the back. "You're doin' the right thing, Ky; the kid needs a friend, not a fuck buddy."

"Thanks for... Gettin' it, I guess." Kylan shyly muttered, looking over at Mickey. "And-for what it's worth-I'm glad Dad was there for you when you needed him; if not, I wouldn't fuckin' be here."

"Shut the fuck up, brat." Mickey sniffed out as an attempted joke.

"Bite me, old man." Kylan sarcastically replied, smirking at Mickey when he snorted out a little half laugh. "Hey Dad?"

"Yeah?" Ian asked, standing up to fetch Mickey and himself a beer.

"Did... Did you ever not want kids? Because of Monica?" Kylan nervously asked his father.

"Maybe before I got with your Mom, but... I don't know, shit just felt right with him. Even after you were diagnosed? I didn't regret havin' you guys." Ian told his son honestly. "Did I wish it was me instead of one of my babies? Fuck yes. But I didn't regret being your Dad."

"I don't wanna do this to a kid." Kylan rasped, standing up and running into Ian's arms.

"I know, baby." Ian whispered, hugging his son as close to him as he could.

"I... I didn't want the baby to be mine, 'cause I don't wanna pass this shit down to anyone." Kylan sobbed into Ian's chest.

"I know, baby boy. It's okay. Everything's gonna be okay." Ian promised his son, watching as Mickey moved to softly stroke Kylan's hair. Ian and Mickey exchanged sad looks, but neither man said a word; what was their to say? Their son had done something completely selfless after seeming so selfish in not wanting to take responsibility, and then confessed the true reason behind not wanting to be the father of Will Carmine's child.

In the end, all they could do was hold Kylan as he cried, both knowing he deserved so much more than the shit cards the poor kid was dealt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me some comments and let me know what you thought of this chapter! Much love!


	43. New Destiny

"So it's not Kylan's baby, but he's letting the boy's parents think it is?" Lana asked her girlfriend as they laid in their bed shortly after Mayla got a call from Mickey, explaining what was going on with her younger brother. Mayla had been devastated when she'd heard about her brother's admission that he didn't want children because of his disorder, and it had quickly overshadowed the relief she felt that her brother wouldn't be a teen parent.

"Mom said the poor kid's Dad was a complete asshole and he was trying to force the boy to keep a baby he doesn't want." Mayla clarified, being shocked when Lana jumped up in bed. "What's wrong?"

"Who could do that to their child?!" Lana demanded, her pretty brown eyes burning with hatred towards a man she'd never met. "He's, what, sixteen? Seventeen? You can't force him into being a parent if he's not fuckin' ready!" 

"My Dad told him the same thing." Mayla said, looking on lovingly at her girlfriend; how the hell was this amazing woman with her? Lana was clearly an amazing artist and beautiful in an almost unearthly way, but she was also incredibly caring and sweet.

"God, Ky probably saved that damn kid a lot of slut shaming if he was already that bad." Lana sighed, messing with one of her dreadlocks just to have something to do with her hands. Mayla absolutely adored how much Lana cared for her siblings, because Kylan, Aleksandr, and Marley were all very important to Mayla; she couldn't see herself being with anyone who didn't love her younger siblings.

"That's what Mom thought." Mayla said with a sad nod. Though she was well aware that Will Carmine had nothing to do with her own family life, Mayla felt more thankful than ever that Mickey and Ian Gallagher were her parents; that she had two parents who loved their four children more than anyone or anything else in this world, and never made them feel like they were wrong in their choices.

"So for the next six months Kylan's the father of someone else's kid... I ever tell you the Gallaghers are way too complicated?" Lana joked, making Mayla burst into a fit of hysterical laughter, because she honestly had no idea how complicated life with the Gallaghers could really get. "Love you, May." Lana whispered with a fond smile, leaning in to kiss Mayla's lips softly.

"I love you, Lana Reading." Mayla replied, pulling Lana into a deeper kiss.

 

"He finally asleep?" Ian asked his husband as he peeked into Kylan and Aleksandr's bedroom where Mickey was perched on the edge of Kylan's bed with his hand on the boy's back, rubbing between his shoulder blades in the same feather-light manner he would when Kylan was a child and couldn't sleep.

"Yeah." Mickey replied, not looking away from their son's sleeping form. "Still shocks the Hell outta me how much he looks like you, some days." Mickey commented, moving his hand to brush a piece of red hair away from Kylan's pale, freckled face. "He's fuckin' perfect."

"All four of them are." Ian agreed, moving to sit on Aleksandr's empty bed, glad that Katia decided Kylan needed some time alone with his parents and she should keep the twins with her for the night; he didn't want his younger children seeing Kylan break down that way and feel as helpless as Mickey and himself had felt. "He's gonna be okay, Mick." Ian assured his husband, watching Mickey as he stared down at their seventeen year-old son, still fast asleep with his back to both of his parents.

"We keep sayin' that, but... Ian, he's fuckin' scared, and we can't do anything to help him! For fuck sake, Ian, we can't help our damn kid." Mickey sighed, moving his hand back into place between Kylan's shoulders.

"He's seein' a therapist, he's on meds, he knows he can talk to us, and he's got May, Alek, and Lee; he's got a better support system than most people, babe." Ian reminded Mickey, hoping to calm some of Mickey's worries where Kylan was concerned. "The kid's asleep; we can talk to him in the morning." Mickey nodded as he stood up, leading Ian to their own bedroom, just hoping Kylan managed to get a decent night's sleep after the shit storm of a day the poor kid had.

 

Kylan didn't realize he'd fallen asleep until he woke up to the sound of his cellphone ringing on the nightstand. He groggily reached for his phone-assuming it was his brother or one of his sisters-and answered without looking at the caller ID on the device's screen. "'Ello?" Kylan asked through a yawn, just wanting his sibling to say what they had to say so he could get back to sleep.

 _"Kylan... I really need to see you."_ The caller whispered into the phone, causing Kylan to jump up in his bed; he hadn't heard this voice in over a year.

"Allison!" Kylan exclaimed, rushing to throw some clothes on and run out of the house-forgetting to let his parents know where he was going-as he grabbed Mickey's car keys and took off in the blue SUV.


	44. Get Your Ass Back Home

Mickey hated waking up early on his days off, but he seriously had to take a fucking piss, and decided to check on Kylan once he was done, assuming that-since it was only six in the morning-he would still be sleeping. What Mickey didn't expect-however-was to find his sons' bedroom completely empty. "Ky? You down there, baby boy?" Mickey called out as he descended the stairs, finding no sign of his eldest son.

"Kylan?" Mickey called again, checking the kitchen and still not seeing any sign that his son was even in the house. Where the Hell is Kylan?

"What're you doin' up, babe?" Ian groggily asked as he descended the stairs. "Ky down here with you? He wasn't in his room."

"He's not here." Mickey said, feeling panic creeping up on him as he noticed the keys to his car were gone. "He took my car."

"What?" Ian was suddenly wide awake, frantically running back up the stairs to fetch his phone.

 

"Hello?" Carl yawned as he answered his phone, wonder who would be calling this early in the morning.

 _"Carl, is Kylan with you?"_ Ian rushed out, clearly distressed.

"Not as far as I know." Carl replied, climbing out of his bed, exited his bedroom, and looked around the living area of the apartment he shared with his fiancée and their two children. "Eva, is Ky here?" Carl asked his Fiancée as she cooked breakfast while both of their children sat at the table.

"No. Why?" Eva asked, noticing Carl's phone. "Carl, baby, what's goin' on?"

"Ian, what's up, man?" Carl asked, realizing he hadn't asked his brother what was going on.

 _"We woke up and Ky was gone; he took Mickey's car and we have no fuckin' idea where he went and he's not answerin' his fuckin' phone!"_ Ian exclaimed, sounding even more upset.  _"Look, if you hear from him, just... Give me a call, okay?"_

"Yeah, of course." Carl agreed, ready to start calling his nephew, himself.

 

"You sure?" Kylan asked Allison, staring down at his clasped hands resting between his knees. Allison had called him after hearing about Will's little scene in the cafeteria from a friend, saying she knew who had actually fathered Will's child. But after she had told Kylan who it was, Kylan felt slightly sick.

"Yeah. Look, I'm a bitch-I get it, I really do-but you don't deserve this shit." Allison replied, reaching over to squeeze Kylan's pale wrist. Kylan looked up at Allison, seeing the girl's uniquely beautiful eyes-the girl had Hetrochromia, with her left eye being brown and her right eye being green-pixie-like delicate features, and long, curly dusty brown hair; Allison was a gorgeous girl, but Kylan could still remember how much she'd hurt him by saying his disorder was "not what she signed up for" as she walked away from him.

"Thanks, Ally." Kylan said, standing up to leave the old baseball field on the Southside-a place Kylan had known his entire life, considering his Uncle Lip had brought him here as a child, telling Kylan and his siblings about when their parents played in their Little League here-when Allison surprised him by jumping to her feet and hugging him.

"Take care of yourself, Ky." Allison whispered, pulling away and leaving Kylan alone. Kylan shook his head-trying in vain to clear his thoughts-and started walking back to where he had parked Mickey's car. Kylan took his phone out of his pocket and planned to turn on some music, but he noticed he had ten voicemails.

**_First New Message received today at 6:05 AM._ **

_"Kylan, where the fuck are you? Call me the fuck back!"_ Kylan cringed at the tone of Ian's voice, knowing he was in trouble.  **Delete.**

_**New Message received today at 6:07 AM.** _

_"Kylan Loxley Gallagher, you better fuckin' call me or your Dad in the next five minutes! Where the fuck are you?!"_ Mickey was clearly pissed off, too.  **Delete.**

_**New Message received today at 6:08 AM.** _

_"Ky, man, your Mom and Dad are worried fuckin' sick; call your parents. Or call me, or your Aunt Eva, just call someone and let us know you're okay."_ At least Carl didn't sound like he wanted to rip Kylan's head off his fucking shoulders.  **Delete.**

_**New Message received today at 6:09 AM.** _

_"Ky, sweetie, you need to call your Mom; he's real worried. Please let someone know where you are. I love you, okay, sweetie?"_ Eva sounded like she was on the verge of tears, and Kylan felt really guilty, now, for worrying everyone.  **Delete.**

_**New Message received today at 6:10 AM.** _

_"Kylan, your Dad, your Uncle, your Aunt, and me have all tried to call and I'm gettin' fuckin' homicidal! Call me the fuck back!"_ Kylan is going to be lucky if he is ever allowed to leave the house again if the sound of Mickey's voice is anything to go on.  **Delete.**

_**New Message received today at 6:11 AM.** _

_"Kylan, this shit isn't funny! Mom and Dad are seriously worried about you; call someone!"_ Great, now Alek's calling him. Terrific.  **Delete.**

_**New Message received today at 6:12 AM.** _

_"Ky, can you please explain why Mama just called me freakin' the fuck out sayin' he woke up and you were gone with his car?!"_ Mayla didn't yell. Ever. This was bad; he had seriously fucked up.  **Delete.**

_**New Message received today at 6:13 AM.** _

_"Kylan, please call me. Or your Mom. Fuck, call your sister! Just let someone know you're alright?"_ Ian's voice was rough, so he was either crying or about to. Why the fuck hadn't he at least sent one of his parents a text to let them know where he was going?  **Delete.**

_**New Message received today at 6:14 AM.** _

_"Ky... Please call me, baby boy."_ Mickey didn't beg, yet here he was, begging his son to call him. Fuck.  **Delete.**

_**New Message received today at 6:16 AM.** _

_"Ky, man, Dad's about to report the car stolen if you don't let someone know where the fuck you are!"_ At least Marley had warned him. That message was sent two minutes ago, so hopefully his father hadn't called the police, just yet.

_Ky (6:18AM): Tell Dad not to call the cops. I'm comin home, now._

_Lee (6:19AM): You are so dead._

He hoped Marley was exaggerating, but he had a feeling she was right; he was dead as soon as he got home.

 

"Where the fuck have you been?!" Mickey shouted as soon as Kylan stepped through the front door.

"Mom, look, I'll explain, I promise, just-" Kylan was cut off by Mickey glaring at him with those fierce, icy blue eyes.

"Fuck no! Tell me what the fuck you were thinkin'!" Mickey yelled, stepping closer to his son.

"Allison called me... She knows who the father of Will's baby is and she thought I should know." Kylan quietly admitted. "She called me at about four and I didn't think about it before I ran out; I didn't even know what she wanted when she called, I just..." Kylan dropped onto the couch beside his grandmother, older sister, and her girlfriend-he assumed his parents had sent the twins upstairs-with a heavy sigh.

"Your ex fuckin' girlfriend calls you at four in the God damn morning and you just fuckin' jump up and go?!" Mickey demanded, looking towards the backdoor as Ian walked back in, smelling as if he'd just chain-smoked a whole pack of cigarettes. "What the fuck is wrong with you?! I know you're not that fuckin' stupid, Kylan!"

"Mick." Ian had this way of speaking that could stop anyone; it wasn't harsh or loud, it just had a power behind it, somehow. "Ky, why didn't you at least answer your phone?"

"I accidently turned the volume off and had no idea anyone was even up, yet." Kylan admitted. "I'm so sorry; I wasn't tryin' to worry you guys."

"It took two hours for her to tell you who's fuckin' kid it is?" Mickey asked, clearly still angry.

"She told me the whole story; she's Will's best friend and when shit ended with the guy, he went to Ally... He's a teacher, Mom." Kylan said, looking up sadly at his Carrier parent. "He's havin' a teacher's baby, and he's scared he'll find out the baby is his."

"God, that poor kid." Mayla said, leaning against Lana. Kylan nodded in agreement, feeling even worse for Will than he had before talking to Allison. He felt horrible for Will, and wished he could do more to help the younger boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me some comments, my beauties! Much love!


	45. Tell Me No Lies

Mickey was still furious, but Ian and Mayla had forced him out the back door in an attempt to calm the 5'7" blue-eyed ball of rage. "He snuck out of the fuckin' house, Ian! I could see Marley doin' that shit, but Kylan's just a mouthy little fucker; he don't fuckin' lie to us!" Mickey shouted, still ready to kick his son's ass.

"I know, Mickey, but the kid's sorta goin' through some shit right now." Ian attempted to reason, keeping both hands on his husband's arms to stop the brunette from making Kylan's day any harder.

"Look, Mama, Allison told Ky that Will had no idea he was pregnant until last week; said Allison figured out the timeline when he told her he was twelve weeks pregnant, and that the last time he hooked up with the teacher was twelve weeks ago." Mayla explained quietly, hoping she could calm her Carrier parent down. "She said he started sleepin' with anyone who would give him attention after that, and Ky was the only one who stuck around for longer than one hook up."

"That don't make what your brother did okay!" Mickey snapped, instantly regretting it when he saw Mayla flinch. "Look, just 'cause Will didn't intentionally mislead Kylan don't mean sneakin' out to see the girl who broke his damn heart okay; you heard him say he didn't even know what she wanted when she called him."

"May, can you go see if Lana's got Ky calmed down?" Ian asked his daughter, waiting until she was back inside the house before saying anything else to Mickey. "Baby, you remember when May was three and she decided to scare you? Do you remember how shitty you felt after that?" Mickey nodded, but didn't say a word; Kylan sneaking out of the house in Mickey's car was not the same thing as Mayla playing "Dragon" when she was three. "You were stressed, and it came to a head when Mayla scared you; that's exactly what this is."

"I thought... He was so fucked up last night, and I..." Mickey couldn't finish his sentence; couldn't say that he was terrified Kylan had left the house in an attempt to end his own life. "He's still my baby, Ian."

"I know, Mick." Ian whispered, pulling Mickey into his arms, holding his husband close as they both thanked whatever higher power there was that Kylan hadn't been trying to hurt himself.

 

"Lana... You can't do that." Mayla heard Kylan mutter to her girlfriend as she reached the doorway to the living room.

"I can do whatever the Hell I want. And... You're family, Ky." Lana said, stroking Kylan's hair from where his head was resting on her shoulder. "Plus, I'm twenty-six; as far as my family goes I'm way behind."

"And what if May don't like this idea? You really gonna risk that for me and some guy you don't know?" Kylan asked Lana without lifting his head.

"Let me handle your sister." Lana said, causing Mayla to decide it was time to make her presence know.

"Tryin' to steal my girl, Monster?" Mayla joked, dropping onto the couch beside Lana.

"I would, but sadly she's anti-dick, so I don't stand a chance." Kylan shot back. "Shame, too, 'cause she's pretty fuckin' hot."

"See? This right here? Is why I love the Gallaghers; you make me feel pretty!" Lana preened, smiling broadly at Mayla. 

"You're very pretty, dear." Mayla whispered, leaning in to kiss her girlfriend. "You guys gonna tell me what you were really talkin' about?"

"Ky was textin' Will and he said he was worried about the baby 'cause he didn't like any of the files the agency sent over, so..." Lana cleared her throat and Kylan moved over a little, scared he would see a pissed off side of his older sister he-or anyone else, for that matter-had never seen. "I wanna adopt the baby. If you don't wanna, that's fine; I'll get my own place and you can just be Mommy's girlfriend, but-" Mayla cut Lana off with a fierce, passionate kiss that made Kylan a bit uncomfortable, considering he was essentially caught off guard by his sister attacking her girlfriend's mouth.

"Aye! Not on my fuckin' couch!" Mickey yelled as he and Ian entered the living room, shocking both girls as they quickly separated. "What's goin' on?"

"Lana and I wanna adopt Will's baby." Mayla informed her parents, smiling lovingly at Lana. Kylan may not be the baby's biological father, but he was already proving how much he cared for the child; this baby was a Gallagher-even if they weren't related to the family at all-and Gallaghers looked after their own.


	46. You Are My Addiction

Ian and Mickey were still a little off by the time they went to bed that night, both thinking about the fact that they'd have to take their son to get tested for any possible STIs he could've contracted first thing tomorrow morning. "What if he actually caught something?" Ian asked Mickey as they laid on their sides, staring into each other's eyes.

"Then we get him the right meds and make sure the kid sees he needs to be more fuckin' careful from now on." Mickey replied, taking Ian's hand and lacing their fingers together.

"Never had to deal with any of this shit." Ian said, looking down at their interlocked fingers. "I was clean before I got with you, and I haven't had sex with anyone else in almost thirty years... I know symptoms on paper, but I can't even fuckin' think of any, right now."

"We don't know if he's even got any fuckin' symptoms, Ian. Hell, even if there  _were_ any, how would we know it had anything to do with STIs; mood swings? He's Bipolar. No appetite? He spent a fuckin' week scared out of his fuckin' mind that he was gonna have a kid and pass his disorder down. Kid wouldn't fuckin' tell us if it burnt when he pissed or any shit like that." Mickey rambled, causing Ian to just stare at his husband.

"Been doin' some research?" Ian asked, trying to turn the situation into a joke.

"Fuck no! The... The first time I was pregnant, Iggy thought I had one 'cause I couldn't eat shit 'cause it was all makin' me sick-neither of us had no fuckin' idea it was morning sickness-and I was havin' pretty extreme mood swings; he asked if it burnt when I pissed, if I had fuckin' warts or blisters on my dick... Let's just say the "mood swing" after that was completely in my control." Mickey replied with a wicked smirk.

"Better get some sleep." Ian sighed, pulling Mickey closer and wrapping his arms tightly around his husband's waist. "Love you, Mick."

"Love you, baby." Mickey whispered, leaning up and kissing Ian's chin before curling into Ian's chest to get some sleep.

 

"How many sexual partners have you had, Kylan?" A doctor asked Kylan as he looked over his notes.

"Umm... Mom? Can... Can you step out?" Kylan shakily asked, a deep crimson blush spreading over his cheeks. Mickey was about to ask why, but he could see his son was incredibly uncomfortable.

"Yeah, kid." Mickey replied, squeezing Kylan's shoulder before he walked out of the room and took a seat in the waiting area.

 

"Kylan?" Doctor Willis prompted once Mickey was out of the room.

"I-I don't know, exactly; I-I'm Bipolar and I... I went through a rough patch before I was diagnosed. I fucked more people than I could keep up with." Kylan admitted, refusing to look at his father.

"Can you try to ball park it for me?" Doctor Willis asked quietly, seeing that the boy was embarrassed. 

"Maybe twenty to thirty?" Kylan stated as more of a question. "Can we get this over with, please?" Doctor Willis nodded, took a blood sample, and informed the Gallaghers that they should have their results in two to three days before allowing them to exit the room.

 

Three Days Later

"Kylan, this is treatable." Doctor Willis tried to comfort Kylan with his words, but all Kylan could hear was the diagnosis; Gonorrhea. Kylan had contracted Gonorrhea, and he couldn't be certain if he'd contracted it from Will or one of the other people he'd hooked up with over the past two years.

"I-is there any way t-to know how long I've had it?" Kylan shakily asked Doctor Willis.

"Considering you were exhibiting no symptoms? I'd say it hasn't been very long; possibly a month to two months at the longest." Doctor Willis said, causing Kylan to let out a shaky sigh; Kylan could now be certain of where it had come from, but now he was concerned for Will and the other boy's unborn child.

"Is it safe to get treated for Gonorrhea when you're pregnant?" Kylan asked, reaching for Mickey's hand and squeezing it tightly; call him a fucking baby all you want, but Kylan needs his God damn Mama, right now!

"According to our records you are not a Carrier." Doctor Willis said, clearly confused as he sifted through Kylan's medical records.

"I'm not, but... But the boy I caught it from is, and he's almost four months pregnant." Kylan explained, leaning into Ian without letting go of Mickey's hand.

"He'll have to speak to his OBGYN and be prescribed medications that are safe for his child." Doctor Willis said as he wrote up Kylan's prescriptions and left the room, giving the three Gallagher men time to absorb what they'd been told. Mickey and Ian didn't speak-just let Kylan calm himself-as they looked at each other over their shaking, pale eldest son. This poor boy could not catch a fucking break, but Kylan would have everyone in his corner, cheering him on as he overcame yet another obstacle. Because-if anyone could do it-Kylan Loxley Gallagher could fucking overcome anything.

 


	47. The Future For The Gallaghers

Kylan agreed to accompany Will, Amara, Mayla, and Lana to Will's twenty-week ultrasound, despite feeling a little uncomfortable when Amara would praise him for taking responsibility for "his child" as young as he was; Even if her husband was an asshole, Amara was a sweet woman and he felt guilty that he was lying to such a kind-hearted woman. "Are you girls hoping for a boy or girl?" Amara asked Lana and Mayla as waited for Will's name to be called.

"May keeps sayin' she don't care, but I always wanted a little boy." Lana said, laying her head on Mayla's shoulder. "Could name him after your Mom and Dad. Or your brothers."

"What are your and Alek's middle names, Kylan?" Amara asked, messing with Will's hair, seemingly without realizing she was doing it.

"Mine's Loxley and Alek's is Mason; our Mom's name is Mikhailo Aleksandr and Dad chose Alek's name-Aleksandr Mason-so he had Mom's middle name and his middle name would start with M." Kylan rambled nervously.

"Those are nice names. What is Ian's middle name?" Amara asked politely.

"Clayton." Mayla answered for her brother. Both Gallaghers knew Ian had never been very fond of his middle name, and it had only gotten worse after Jacob Gallagher's visit over the summer.

"Maybe don't name the baby Clayton." Amara giggled, watching as Will took Kylan's hand, clearly nervous. Amara just smiled and looked away, allowing the boys to have their moment.

 

"Ky? You okay?" Mickey asked as Kylan ran straight up the stairs and into the bathroom, emptying the contents of his stomach into the porcelain bowl. "What's wrong, baby?"

"It's a boy." Kylan said as he proceeded to heave into the toilet. "The baby's a boy, and... And Will has Gonorrhea. I didn't fuckin' give it to him, but now Amara thinks I'm some disgusting asshole!" Kylan managed, throwing himself against the cool tile wall as he spoke.

"Take me back to the beginning." Mickey muttered, moving closer to his son and allowing the boy to lay his head in his lap.

 

_Kylan was nervous as fuck as he sat beside the examination table Will was laying on, letting the younger boy hang on to his hand only because he needed a grounding force, as well._

_"Whole gang, huh?" The doctor asked as entered the room with a smile plastered on her lovely face. "Who is everyone?"_

_"This is Kylan. He's... He's the father." Kylan could hear reluctance in Will's voice, but he chose to ignore it and just listen to the rest of the introductions. "You've met my mom, and the other two are Mayla-Ky's sister-and her girlfriend, Lana; they're adopting the baby."_

_"Well, it's nice to meet the three of you. But..." The smile fell from Doctor Hunter's face as she looked at Will. "Will, I need to speak to you, so if you'd like Kylan, Mayla, and Lana to step out of the room, now would be the time."_

_"No!" Will shouted, tightening his hand around Kylan's larger one. "No. Just... Just say what you need to say." Will muttered, still not releasing Kylan's hand._

_"Very well. Will, you have Gonorrhea, and we need to find the right treatment course that won't effect your baby." Doctor Hunter explained in a manner that Kylan could tell reminded both him and Mayla of Mickey's "no bullshit" attitude._

_"I... Can you choose, please? I just... I don't know if I'd understand all the medical bullshit that goes into it." Will said, blushing as he looked away from Will._

_"You gave my baby an STD?!" Amara screeched as she jumped to her feet, looking every bit like a protective Mama. Kylan knew that look; he'd witnessed that same look on Mickey and Katia's faces when someone fucked with one of their babies._

_"Misses Carmine, this is treatable and we've caught it rather quickly, so Will is going to be just fine-" Amara cut Doctor Hunter off by stomping over to Kylan and slapping him across the face._

_"Will, would you be comfortable with your mother stepping outside for the rest of the appointment?" Doctor Hunter asked when she saw the Redheaded teen touch his red cheek._

_"Yes." Will replied, watching as Amara stormed out. "Ky, I'm-" Kylan just shook his head, not needing to hear an apology from the younger boy._

_"Can we see the baby, please? I... I wanna see... My baby." Kylan was having a hard time saying this; having a hard time lying to yet another person._

_"Yes! Let's do that!" Doctor Hunter cheered, the smile returning to her face as Will lifted his shirt._

 

_"We're gonna have a little boy!" Lana happily squealed as she walked alongside Will, Kylan, and Mayla towards Mayla's little green Honda Civic._

_"Kylan-" Kylan pulled Will aside, needing some privacy to ask his next question._

_"Your mom hates me, now, I have an STI, and I'm grounded for meetin' up with Ally the day she told me about the baby's real father; I think you owe me the truth, at this point, Will." Kylan rambled, staring down at the shorter boy._

_"What do you wanna know?" Will asked, seeing no reason to argue._

_"Who is it?" Kylan asked, knowing what he needed to do._

 

"Did he tell you?" Mickey asked his son, feeling a rage he hadn't felt in years when Kylan mentioned Amara hitting him; he'd never hit a woman, but fuck if he didn't want to.

"Mister Fuller-Cody Fuller-he's about Dad's age and he's my-" Mickey cut his son off, already recognizing the name.

"Your American History teacher." Mickey said, now feeling slightly sick when he thought back to how animated the man was when they had discussed Kylan at Parent-teacher conferences; had he been interested in Mickey and Ian's little Monster, as well?

"Let Mom and I handle him, Monster." Ian said, announcing his presence to his son and Husband, clearly just as angry as Mickey that a man like that was around three of their children five days a week. They were out for blood, and they'd fucking get it.


	48. Don't Say A Word

"So what's the plan, Mama nosyty?" Iggy asked from his spot on his brother's couch, on hand on his sister's arm to keep her from going out and attacking this creep of a teacher without a plan. Not that Iggy would blame her; the man had been near all of his nephews and one of his nieces-he thanked God the man hadn't been working in that school when Mayla attended it-and they had no idea what kind of monster he truly was.

"Don't fuckin' call me Mama Bear." Mickey snapped, trying to find a way around Ian so he could get to the man who had put his son in this situation. "And the fuckin' plan is I go kick his dorky lookin' ass; no more fuckin' plan needed." 

"Mickey, you're not goin' after him, alone." Ian said, grabbing Mickey's arm to keep his husband from darting out of the house; Ian may be tall and run regularly, but when Mickey wants something? There was no fucking catching him, and Ian knew that.

"Let go of me, Ian! He sees our boys almost every day; he's the reason our fuckin' son's beein' treated for Gonorrhea!" Mickey shouted, causing Lip, Mandy, Fiona, Katia, Iggy, and Carl to flinch while Debbie curled into Zach and Liam watched the stairs to ensure Kylan, Marley, and Aleksandr didn't decide to come down.

"Mama..." Ian and Mickey snapped their heads in the direction of the door as Mayla entered the house. "Mama, you can't go after him alone; he's smart enough that he'll remember that you're Ky and Alek's Carrier parent." Damn Mayla for making sense; he'd spot them-or Lip and Mandy-from a mile away.

"Then what?" Mickey asked, still fighting against Ian's hold on his arm.

"Me and Iggy." Zach said, surprising all of the Gallaghers. While Zach clearly loved all of the children in the family, he was in no way violent. "He has no idea who we are."

"And you don't know him." Mickey tried to argue, wanting Cody Fuller's blood on his own hands after what that man had caused his beautiful little boy to go through.

"I know what he looks like." Debbie said, remembering when Marley had pointed him out when she'd picked the girl up from Drama practice. "I can find him for those two... And Carl can go to the school; tell them a student informed them that a friend of theirs was being sexually abused by a teacher and demand to see the cameras."

"One problem with that: I'd need a report to even get access to the cameras-to get the warrant-and I don't have one." Carl explained, wringing his pale hands. "I can't do a God Damn thing to help my fuckin' nephew!"

"Carl, it's not your fault." Fiona soothed, running her fingers through Carl's wavy brown hair.

"Yeah it fuckin' is! What if it was one of my kids?!" Carl demanded, punching the wall across from him.

"Aye! That motherfucker ain't no reason to tear up my fuckin' house!" Mickey shouted, seeing the hole in the drywall. "We get this motherfucker, we do it the Milkovich way, and we get those assholes raisin' that boy off Kylan's back. Got it?"

"Mikhailo, you cannot do anything to this man; you have children who need you and a grandchild on the way." Katia said, stepping away from Kev and Vee.

"The hell are you sayin, Ma?" Mickey asked his mother, unsure of why Katia was pointing all of this out.

"I will help Zach and Vigo." Katia said, earning wide-eyed stares from everyone in the room. Mickey didn't want this, but what other choice did he have? His mother was right, and this fucker needed to be taken care of.

"Okay." Mickey said, nodding as he allowed Ian to pull him closer. No one had any idea what would happen with Cody Fuller, but Mickey didn't like the idea of any one in the family being at risk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation:  
> Mama nosyty-Mama bear  
> Leave me some comments, beauties! Much love!


	49. Don't Touch

The night Katia, Zach, and Iggy planned to confront Cody Fuller saw the three of them waiting outside the school with Marley's copy of the yearbook in Katia's lap. "He is not a very attractive man." Katia commented, looking down at the rather average looking brunette man. She was aware that he was the same age as Ian-making him roughly a year younger than her son-but he looked as if he could be five to ten years older than both men.

"Defiantly looks like a fuckin' pedophile." Iggy muttered, glaring down at the man who had caused his eldest nephew so much trouble.

"We will end this, Vigo." Katia promised her son, venom filling her bright blue eyes.

"Kat, you look a lot like Mick and Mandy, so stay back a little bit." Zach instructed, knowing Katia was the only real sign Cody would have that the three of them were related to the Gallaghers; Zach had married into the family and Iggy looked nothing like his mother or siblings.

"If he ever goes near my grandbabies, again I will rip his fucking lunge out through his back." Katia seethed. "He is a complete monster!"

"I know, Kat, and trust me when I say he's not gettin' outta here without at least one broken bone." Zach promised. Zach loved Katia Milkovich as much as anyone else in the Gallagher inner circle did; she was fierce, loving, and made it a point to welcome everyone in. The problem was, if Katia Milkovich loved you, anyone who fucked with you needed to watch their backs.

"Vy znayete, shcho robyty, Viho." Katia whispered harshly to Iggy, making Zach feel a bit uneasy; nothing good ever came from the Milkoviches speaking Ukrainian.

"Tak, mamo. YA povynen poznachyty yoho; perekonaytesya kozhen zseredyny znaye, shcho take ublyudok." Iggy replied, looking down at the knife in his hand. Zach didn't know what the plan was, but he might be able to get behind it if the cruel smile on Katia's face was anything to go by.

 

"I don't think I can do this." Iggy muttered as they followed Cody Fuller back to his house after watching the man walking out of the school, standing far too close to a kid that reminded Iggy a lot of Aleksandr; the boy was all black hair, pale skin, bright eyes, and a small body.

"You saw that kid, Ig! He was fuckin' terrified; for God's sake, he looked like our fuckin' nephew!" Zach exclaimed, ready to rip the knife away from Iggy and use it to slit the motherfucker's throat with it.

"Shcho robyty, yakshcho tsey khlopetsʹ buv Oleksandr Viho? shcho b vy skazaly Mykhaylo, yakshcho tsya lyudyna zavdala bilʹ odnomu z yoho ditey, yak ti inshi khlopchyky?" Katia gently asked her son, carding her fingers through his messy blond hair.

"Stay in the car, make sure you have the bags ready." Was all Iggy said before jumping out of the car and running the block away from where they'd parked in a shopping center parking lot towards Fuller's house.

 

"No ya don't." Zach calmly said when Cody tried to slam the door in their faces, pushing his way into the house with Iggy right on his heels. "See, you? You hurt someone important to us, Cody." Zach seethed, punching the side of Cody's head when he reached for the phone. "And we're gonna make a deal."

"Fuck you!" Cody yelled, trying to get away from Zach before being cornered by Iggy.

"We caught you, tonight; with that kid. What is he? Fourteen? Now-" Iggy threw a punch at Cody's chest, causing the man to crumble to the ground with a pathetic wheeze. "You keep this little... Talk, between us, or we'll tell the cops about that one. You just gotta confess to the others."

"W-what are you talkin' about?" Cody asked, looking up at Iggy with shocked brown eyes.

"We know. So, you go to the cops and confess-with names-and we'll walk away without my buddy using that." Zach said, pointing towards the knife.

"Okay! Okay! J-just-" Zach cut Cody off with another sucker punch to the head.

"Do whatever Mama told you to do." Zach said evenly, surprising Iggy only slightly.

"Makin' sure when he's locked up people know why; pedophiles don't usually last long if people know." Iggy explained as he carved "KID FUCKER" into Cody's forearm. Satisfied with their work, the two men zipped their jackets, stuffed their hands in their pocket and calmly walking off in an effort to avoid suspicion.

 

"Your brother tell you anything?" Ian asked his husband quietly, trying not to wake the twins as they slept with their heads on Mickey's lap-each taking up one whole side of the couch as they curled up to their Carrier parent-and the brunette ran his fingers through their hair.

"Just that they took care of it." Mickey replied, looking down at the twins as they slept. And that they caught the asshole with a kid who looked like Alek." Mickey was trying to keep his voice level, but Ian could see that he was pissed off. And Ian understood it; this sick fuck had been the reason behind their eldest son contracting an STI, and now he was sleeping with a boy who looked like their youngest son.

"Don't worry about him, okay? Tomorrow's Ky's graduation; he made it through all the shit he's been through, and we need to be all there for our boy." Ian whispered, leaning over and kissing Mickey's cheek. "Wake these two up so we can go to bed, okay?"

"Think I'm gonna stay down here with them." Mickey muttered, pecking Ian's lips when the redhead pouted. "Love you."

"Love you, too." Ian sighed before moving to go to bed for the night, leaving his husband to sleep on the couch with their two youngest children.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:  
> Vy znayete, shcho robyty, Viho.-You know what to do, Vigo.  
> Tak, mamo. YA povynen poznachyty yoho; perekonaytesya kozhen zseredyny znaye, shcho take ublyudok.-Yeah, Mom. I gotta mark him; make sure everyone on the inside knows what that bastard is.  
> Shcho robyty, yakshcho tsey khlopetsʹ buv Oleksandr Viho? shcho b vy skazaly Mykhaylo, yakshcho tsya lyudyna zavdala bilʹ odnomu z yoho ditey, yak ti inshi khlopchyky?-What if that boy was Aleksandr, Vigo? what would you say to Mikhailo if that man had hurt one of his babies like those other boys?


	50. Graduation Day

"Mom, stop!" Kylan groaned when Mickey pushed his hair back into place for the tenth time.

"Excuse the fuck outta me for wantin' my son to look halfway decent, today." Mickey snarked, trying not to cry at the knowledge that his little monster was officially done with High School after today. "You and May get your cap done?"

"Oh, yeah!" Kylan excitedly exclaimed, reaching into the canvas bag that held his cap and gown, pulling out the black cap and turning it to see the intricately painted guitar over a musical score Mickey couldn't identify-not that he could identify any-with a small, green ribbon.

"What's the ribbon for?" Mickey asked, amazed at the design his two eldest children had come up with.

"Bipolar Disorder Awareness." Ian said from the doorway, already dressed in a green dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a black tie, and black jeans. "Ready to be done with High School, kid?" Ian asked their son, stepping forward to fix the charcoal grey tie around the boy's neck.

"Fuck yes; "best four years of your life" my ass." Kylan replied, making both of his parents laugh. "The twins ready?"

"Lee's changin' her dress for the third time, but Alek's waitin' in the living room." Ian confirmed, wincing as he though about how much longer it could take his drama queen of a daughter to finally deem herself ready to go.

"Maybe we should all just take a nap; you know how Lee is." Kylan joked, earning a scoff from over Mickey's shoulder.

"Screw you, asshole. I just didn't wanna look  _too_ good and take all the attention away from your dorky lookin' ass." Marley proclaimed as she stepped into the boys' bedroom in a knee-length yellow sundress with white daisies adorning the fabric and a pair of rose gold gladiator sandals with her short, dark hair perfectly styled and light, Summery makeup. "I failed, though, 'cause I still look good."

"Alright, enough. Let's go before Kylan's late." Ian said, ushering his family down the stairs and out the door once they'd collected Aleksandr.

 

"Mama! Daddy!" Mayla excitedly screeched when she saw her parents entering the Quad, waving her arms a little to gain their attention. "Is Ky nervous?"

"Didn't seem like it." Ian told their eldest child, kissing her cheek as he sat down beside her. "Seem nervous to you, baby?"

"Nah, he's good." Mickey confirmed, taking a seat beside his husband with the twins moving to sit in the row behind them. "Embarrassed to be seen with your parents?"

"Yes." Marley said.

"Not really." Aleksandr said with a shrug at the same time his sister spoke.

"I like the boy more." Mickey joked to his husband, which made Ian smirk.

"Well, Marley  _was_ our accidental twin." Ian sighed, looking off into the distance wistfully.

"I'm the older one!" Marley reminded both parents, crossing her arms over her chest defiantly.

"Didn't say you didn't pop out first; I said you were the unplanned surprise... We had you two when we were tryin' for a blue-eyed baby so I'd quit complainin' that none of you looked enough like your mom." Ian said, making Mayla and Mickey both laugh softly.

"Told you." Aleksandr muttered in a sing-song voice, earning himself a slap to the back of his head from his sister.

"Shut up." Marley mumbled, smiling brightly when Katia, Iggy, Frank, Debbie, Zach, Fiona, Liam, Lip, Mandy, Arden, Carl, Eva, Wyatt, and Brynn joined them. "Grandma Katie, Mom and Dad are being mean to me!" She complained, laughing like a maniac when Katia slapped both men's arms.

"Be nice to my grandbaby." Katia chastised, moving to kiss Mayla, Marley, and Aleksandr on their cheeks. "We are on our best behavior, today."

"Fuck!" Iggy whispered, elbowing Zach and pointing towards where a very bruised Cody Fuller stood with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Think he's tryin' to figure out who we know?" Zach quietly asked, trying to appear unaffected by the man's presence.

"Play it cool, dumbasses." Carl lectured, moving his jacket to reveal his badge and gun. "He tries anything, I got it covered." by the time Carl finished speaking, the graduation march had started and the Gallagher/Milkovich family turned to watch Kylan enter the Quad with his class, all ready to endure the heat and bright sun in order to see Kylan get his diploma.

 

The Gallagher/Milkovich family all swarmed Kylan once he was free to leave, hugging and kissing Mickey and Ian's second born as the boy laughed affectionately.

"You did it, Monster." Mickey whispered to his son as he hugged Kylan, feeling incredibly fucking proud of his little boy. "Proud of you."

"Thanks, Mama." Kylan whispered, hugging Mickey back before moving to hug his father.

"Good job, Ky." Ian said, patting his son's back as he hugged the teenager.

"Thanks-" Kylan was cut off by someone clearing their throat behind him. 

"So Gallagher, huh?" Cody asked, looking past Kylan towards Zach and Iggy. Zach was about to speak when Carl elbowed him, pointing to the gun in the waistband of Cody's pants.

"Mister Fuller, I don't know what you think is going on, but-"After that, everything was chaos; shots being fired, people screaming, and Carl taking Cody Fuller to the ground with a knee in the man's back.

"Is everyone okay?!" Carl demanded, looking around at his family frantically.

"Think so." Ian said, looking at Mickey, Mayla, Marley, and Aleksandr before hearing Fiona gasp and seeing Mickey pale.

"Ian! You're bleeding!" Fiona shouted, though Ian felt fine. He looked down at himself, seeing blood on his shirt, but there was no hole in the fabric.

"Mama... Daddy?" Kylan called, holding his side with blood pouring out over his fingers.

"Kylan!" The frantic parents shouted in unison, moving to help their son sit on the ground.

"Debbie, call nine-one-one!" Mickey ordered before turning his attention back to Kylan. "You're okay, baby." Mickey promised his son, feeling tears burning his eyes. "Everything's gonna be okay." Mickey said again, looking to Ian for some kind of assurance that their baby was alright. He didn't get any.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ending this story on a bit of a cliffhanger. Do you think Kylan is going to be alright? Let me know in the comments! Much love!


End file.
